DJI says its drones are designed for consumers after Russian general praises their military...

[midian182]

A hot potato: Most companies welcome public praise, but not when it comes from a high-ranking Russian general who calls your products "a true symbol of modern warfare." That's the situation faced by Chinese drone-making giant DJI, which has responded by reaffirming that its drones are intended for civilian use only.

The South China Morning Post reports that Army General Yuri Baluyevsky, the former Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation, has been heaping praise on DJI's drones in his new book, writing that they have brought "a real revolution" to traditional artillery weapons thanks to their enhanced accuracy and efficiency compared to precision-guided missiles.

Last Friday, the Russian embassy in China used social media platform Weibo to post about a report on the book from state media outlet Sputnik. The post included a quote from Baluyevsky that read, "The Mavic quadcopter drone made by China's DJI has become a true symbol of modern warfare."

The Mavic Air 2

The Russian embassy quickly took down the post, but not before it was lambasted by Chinese internet users who complained it could have repercussions for the already US-sanctioned DJI. "What do you want by saying this? Western countries to block DJI? Or more sanctions on China?" one post read.

DJI was added to the US government's investment blacklist in December last year over claims it was involved in the surveillance of Muslim minorities in Xinjiang. The sanctions have contributed to DJI's share of the drone market dropping from a high of 74% to 54% in 2021, though it remains the number one consumer drone maker.

DJI condemned the post with a statement on Weibo. "All DJI products are designed for civilian purposes and cannot meet the requirements of military specifications," the company wrote. "We do not support applications for military purposes."

This isn't new territory for DJI. It suspended sales in Russia in April following numerous reports of the country's troops using its drones to navigate missiles in Ukraine. DJI at the time said the move was not a statement about any country "but a statement about our principles."

In 21 days of the war, russian troops has already killed 100 Ukrainian children. they are using DJI products in order to navigate their missile. @DJIGlobal are you sure you want to be a partner in these murders? Block your products that are helping russia to kill the Ukrainians! pic.twitter.com/4HJcTXFxoY

— Mykhailo Fedorov (@FedorovMykhailo) March 16, 2022

In March, Ukrainian vice president Mykhailo Fedorov sent a letter pleading with DJI CEO and founder Frank Wang to stop selling products to Russia. Fedorov said the Russian army was using an extended version of the DJI AeroScope drone detection program and that DJI products were being used to kill civilians.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/95638-dji-emphasizes-drones-designed-consumers-after-russian-general.html

 

[p51d007]

I'm sure they could "work around it" but couldn't DJI just send out an update, to "geo fence" that area? Of course, they wouldn't have to install the update, but considering the bumbling Russian military lately, they probably would.

 

[BadThad]

China Cyberdyne Skynet!

 

[Tantor]

I'm sure they could "work around it" but couldn't DJI just send out an update, to "geo fence" that area? Of course, they wouldn't have to install the update, but considering the bumbling Russian military lately, they probably would.

Not sure what you mean by bumbling. The war has been one long string of defeats for Ukraine, despite massive Western support.

 

[Sathi43]

I'm pretty sure Ukraine side also uses the same drones. Dropping sanctions on a retail product just because someone figured out a military use is just silly.

 

[DogEggs]

Not sure what you mean by bumbling. The war has been one long string of defeats for Ukraine, despite massive Western support.

Not sure where you are getting your information from, but it's probably RT and Solovyov.
You should probably stop watching propaganda. The front lines haven't advanced in weeks and weeks now and Russia is being pushed back in a number of areas. I also wouldn't call 45,000 dead russians in just 175 days any sort of victory to crow about from Russia's perspective.

 

[toooooot]

Not sure where you are getting your information from, but it's probably RT and Solovyov.
You should probably stop watching propaganda. The front lines haven't advanced in weeks and weeks now and Russia is being pushed back in a number of areas. I also wouldn't call 45,000 dead russians in just 175 days any sort of victory to crow about from Russia's perspective.

Russia has one very serious historic advantage over Ukraine. It does not give a s***t about those it sends storming Ukrainian forces. At the beginning of this war they refused to take bodies of their soldiers Ukraine offered them to pick.
When a life of your soldier is 0, when there are millions and millions extremely poor young men who have no other way to make money but to join this suicide mission, well that is a serious advantage.
And Ukraine will need much more powerful western weapons before it can spend all of the men that still join Russian forces.
Another advantage, Russia fights like a savage. The civilians in their eyes dont exist. Therefore, they can bomb anything without caring about women ands children.
My biggest wish for this war is that Russia falls apart like it did in 1917, or 1990.
And then it stays weak and insignificant forever.

 

[Endymio]

The front lines haven't advanced in weeks and weeks now and Russia is being pushed back in a number of areas.

Name one of these areas. According to the pro-Ukraine Institute for the Study of War, Ukraine has taken zero ground in the past two months, whereas Russia has taken all of Luhansk Oblast, the major city of Severodonetsk, and more than two dozen smaller towns.

I also wouldn't call 45,000 dead russians in just 175 days any sort of victory

I wouldn't buy that figure from the Ukrainian MoD, nor would I buy the Russian official figure of under 10,000. This one seems the most reasonable:

The Economist, July 27, 2022: "How heavy are Russian casualties in Ukraine? The CIA and MI6 say 15,000 Russians have died...Ukrainian officials say that their own casualty rate has been similar, and at times much worse..."

 

[Endymio]

Another advantage, Russia fights like a savage. The civilians in their eyes dont exist. Therefore, they can bomb anything without caring about women ands children.

The US killed 200,000 civilians in Iraq, mainly through indiscriminate carpet-bombing tactics against major cities like Mosul ... a tactic that so far Russia has refrained from. The civilian deaths were particularly disturbing, as winning the war was easily feasible without resorting to such tactics.

By the way, NATO invaded that sovereign nation for no other reason than to search for illusory WMD.

 

[toooooot]

The US killed 200,000 civilians in Iraq, mainly through indiscriminate carpet-bombing tactics against major cities like Mosul ... a tactic that so far Russia has refrained from. The civilian deaths were particularly disturbing, as winning the war was easily feasible without resorting to such tactics.

By the way, NATO invaded that sovereign nation for no other reason than to search for illusory WMD.

Sorry bud, I studied Russian wars because I was born in USSR.
To even get some sort of general information regarding your statement, I would have to read at least x number of books I have read regarding Russian wars.
Russia is a country with terrifyingly large number of people who were never mean to be humans.
Are you trying to say something like all people are animals, or USA = Russia?
When was the last war where US soldiers mass raped women and children in a war?
Russians are doing it right now. Did USA add Iraq to its glorious lands after war by chance? Russia is already making laws to make newly occupied Ukrainian lands a part of its **** empire.
There are no white knights in wars. But to match Russia, USA would have to commit war atrocities for hundredth of years, one war after another before it can get remotely close to what Russia has done in her last 5-10 wars.