Global Impact | China expands export controls on drones, parts with potential for military use
- In this week’s issue of the Global Impact newsletter, we look at the impact of the latest moves by China and the United States against drones
In the past couple of years, China has tightened its drone-export controls amid growing international pressure on the top maker of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) to curb its dual-use product sales.
Payload components that could obviously have military applications, or the potential to, are also included in the ban. These include infrared imaging devices, high-precision inertial measuring units, synthetic-aperture radars, high-performance indicating lasers, as well as wireless communication devices with a range beyond 50km (31 miles).
Consoles that can control more than 10 drones at the same time will also be restricted, as will general civilian counter-UAV equipment – drone jammers with an effective range of more than 5km or anti-drone lasers with an output power higher than 1.5kw.
In addition, export operators will still be punished for selling products not listed, “if they have known or reasonably should know that the export will be used for the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction, terrorist activities or military purposes”, said an announcement by the Ministry of Commerce.
[The] Chinese government firmly supports Chinese companies conducting international trade and cooperation of drones in civilian areas
