A new report by the non-partisan GAO – the US Government Accountability Office – has highlighted a problem facing parts of the US government that use drones, not least the Department of the Interior which uses them to monitor and prevent wildfires.
Wildfires are a huge problem in the USA, killing 183 people last year and according to a separate US government report, JEC, cost $10.2 billion in property damage.
The problem – one I've highlighted in the past at DCW – is that various policies and unfunded mandates are preventing departments acquire the relatively cheap and effective tech they've been used to. No real domestic alternative has emerged and the US now finds itself with an ageing fleet of DJI equipment that, thanks to legislation it has passed, it is unable to replace.
The result is, as the report puts it, means "Interior bureaus have not been able to expand their use of drones for emergency operations, according to officials. Some bureaus no longer have enough drones to meet their needs for such operations, and using alternative methods such as helicopters can increase costs and safety risks, according to bureau officials."
In other words, more cash is being sought from taxpayers, but less can be achieved. It's interesting to see this from an independent "congressional watchdog".
The report also notes "loss of opportunities to collect data on landscapes, natural and cultural resources, wildlife, and infrastructure." That's not an insignificant factor in a country with billions of dollars worth of ageing road bridges and power lines that need monitoring.
The real surprise in the report is the change in cost as interior departments have adapted to acquiring drones which comply with legislation which prevents "data sharing" (typically any drone even capable of receiving a software update from its manufacturers falls foul of this).
Being "compliant" has massively increased costs, as the damning graph shows, but has had another problem. It simply isn't getting reliability from US companies.
"Some compliant drones Interior identified for procurement, as well as some foreign-made drones allowed under the American Security Drone Act for the full range of wildfire operations, are not readily available and could take as long as 6 months to receive after ordering, according to Interior and bureau officials. As of April 2024, Interior had ordered 98 drones in fiscal year 2024, but only 46 had been delivered."
This might have been part of the pain that Adam Bray spoke of – we thought he just meant businesses, but perhaps he meant all Americans!
The report goes on to detail the massive drop off in flights because of grounding policies to meet rules, despite the fact that in emergencies 'non-compliant' drones that were already owned were still used, and that the NOAA had some exemptions from the American Security Drone Act of 2023.
Significantly there are time limits on the existing fleet's lifetime (and some exemptions), which is why this issue is more significant now.
The report comes at a knife-edge time for DJI, the leading manufacturer of drones, because the House of Representatives has just passed a Bill to ban drones called the Countering CCP Drones Act, separately this time (it's already tried taking it onto a different bill). The legislation will now make its way to the Senate (or perhaps disappear in the wash-up after the election).
DJI, as you might imagine, drew the connections in their own ViewPoint blog post, highlighting the fact that "Compliant” Drones Are Neither Readily Available Nor Reliably Capable," as well as emphasising that the company continues to offer "a path forward."
If you're worried, we keep a guide to the best non-DJI drones, but the likelihood of any drones already approved by the FCC will be OK for most users except those the tax payer buys. The latest news on which might be signed off is on our drone rumours page, and in any impartial look at the best camera drones DJI do appear a lot!
