A GROUP of 15 Republican lawmakers in the United States on Monday asked the Pentagon to block export licenses for U.S. components for Chinese drone manufacturer DJI, citing national security concerns.

The U.S. Commerce Department in December 2020 added Shenzhen-based DJI, the world’s largest commercial drone manufacturer by market share, to its export control list.

In a letter to U.S. Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin, the lawmakers pointed out the discovery of U.S.-manufactured components in a dismantled DJI drone, suggesting that the U.S. government had previously approved such exports.

They argued that the U.S. Defense Department should refrain from endorsing further export licenses that bolster DJI’s technological prowess, fearing this could inadvertently harm U.S. “national security interests.”

DJI said the letter “traffics in distortions and misrepresentations of fact.”

DJI said that its “drones have proven to be among the most innovative, cost-effective, and easy to use — while leading on data security.”

More than 50% of drones sold in the United States are made by DJI. They are the most popular drones in use by public safety agencies, U.S. Republican lawmakers said earlier. (SD-Agencies)