Chinese drone maker allows flights over ‘restricted zones’ in US

A giant Chinese drone maker has released a new update, effective immediately, which allows its products in the US to fly over spaces which were until now designated as "no fly zones."

DJI, of one the world's top manufacturers of civil drones and creative camera technology, updated its geofencing system (GEO) which applies to most of its consumer and enterprise drone products in the US, the company said in a statement on Monday.

These changes apply to both the DJI Fly and DJI Pilot flight apps, it added.

Last year, the drone maker applied similar changes in the EU.

"With this update, DJI's Fly and Pilot flight app operators will see prior DJI geofencing datasets replaced to display official Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) data," the statement said.

"Areas previously defined as restricted zones (also known as no-fly zones) will be displayed as enhanced warning zones, aligning with the FAA's designated areas," the drone maker said.

"In these zones, in-app alerts will notify operators flying near FAA designated controlled airspace, placing control back in the hands of the drone operators, in line with regulatory principles of the operator bearing final responsibility," said the DJI.

According to a US-based open source handle on X, @sentdefender, the restricted zones indicated military bases, airports, power plants, and other "sensitive sites."

Under the new update, an operator user will receive an "alert" if the drone is flying within what the DJI is calling "enhanced warning zones" but will not prevent the operators from entering or flying through like the previous system, it added.