San Francisco: China-based commercial drone-making company DJI is no longer producing its drone-detection system “AeroScope” which was accused of helping Russians to target and harm Ukrainian drone pilots.
The device’s product page now shows a pop-up stating that “the Aeroscope is no longer in production”.
Users can close the notification to access the full AeroScope product page, which still includes a DJI dealers’ order form at the bottom, reports The Verge, citing sources.
The company hasn’t officially announced the product’s closure, and it is still unclear whether current AeroScope devices will lose functionality or if the platform will be permanently terminated.
Moreover, it is rumoured that DJI is working on a second version of the receiver.
According to the company, the AeroScope technology is a “comprehensive drone detection platform” which can recognise and track drones in real-time using the receiver signals generated by newer DJI drones.
This signal gives AeroScope users information such as flight status, path and pilot location from drones up to about 30 miles away.
The technology became a cause of concern during the Russia-Ukraine war, even though it was initially designed for use by law enforcement or other government organisations to track down drone pilots and monitor drones flying in potentially risky places (such as near an airport runway).
Last year, Mykhailo Fedorov, the vice prime minister of Ukraine, accused DJI of “helping Russia kill the Ukrainians” by using the AeroScope receivers to track down and destroy Ukrainian drone operators with aerial strikes, the report mentioned.
Brendan Schulman, the former vice president of policy at DJI, tweeted on Sunday that there are “probably two reasons” behind DJI’s decision to discontinue the drone-detection system.
First, “it doesn’t make sense to continue supporting a feature that was created to assist US security interests when being constantly attacked by US security agencies”, and second that “Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Remote ID is being implemented”.
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