DHS Scored DJI's Drones Higher Than the Blue UAS Picks — Then Left the Scores Out

The Department of Homeland Security put six Blue UAS-listed drones and two Chinese drones through usability testing in New York City — and the results are awkward for everyone pushing a DJI ban. According to the test data, DJI’s Matrice 4T scored 4.6 out of 5 and the Matrice 30T scored 4.3. The best-performing Blue UAS drone, the Skydio X10, managed a 3.7. The Parrot Anafi USA Gov scored 2.4.

Those DJI scores never made it into the public version of the Blue UAS report.

What the Blue drones did

• Three of the six Blue UAS drones could not hold position
• One had a flyaway
• Another failed to pair with its controller for up to 15 minutes
• Testers also reported latency, connection issues, and slow boot times

The Drone Service Providers Alliance (DSPA) is now taking the findings to Congress. Its CEO Vic Moss says the issue is big enough to step outside the organization’s normal lane: DSPA wants Congress to name an agency and test every manufacturer’s security the same way the usability was tested — regardless of country of origin.

The underlying argument is hard to dismiss: if the standard is performance and security, test everyone by the same standard. If the standard is country of origin, say so openly.