…[America] lags behind Russia and China in manufacturing drones, training soldiers to use them and defending against them, according to interviews with more than a dozen U.S. military officials and drone industry experts….<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Drones have become a weapon of choice on modern battlefields. In the early days of the war in Ukraine, soldiers beat back the Russian invasion by adding deadly modifications to the Mavic,<\/a> a drone sold to hobbyists by DJI, a Chinese company that is the world\u2019s largest drone manufacturer. Versions of the Mavic cost between $300 and $5,000, according to online retailers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n DJI, of Shenzhen, China, accounts for about 70 percent of all commercial drones sold globally for hobby and industrial use, such as aerial photography, package delivery and weather research. The privately held company sells its equipment to customers in the United States \u2014 there\u2019s even an authorized store on Fifth Avenue in Manhattan \u2014 but U.S. law bars the military from buying Chinese drones. The company declined to share market data, but industry experts estimate that DJI\u2019s output far exceeds that of any other drone manufacturer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cNo one even comes close,\u201d said Bobby Sakaki, chief executive of UAS NEXUS, a drone industry consultant. \u201cDJI can make millions of drones per year. That is a hundred times more than anybody in the United States can make.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Read it all<\/a>.<\/p> Drones are key to winning wars. But the US hardly makes any. https:\/\/t.co\/LDPLiCmDnC<\/a><\/p>— Samuel Bendett (@sambendett) July 13, 2025<\/a><\/blockquote>