Drones Soon To Be Spy Aircraft For The US Military

Ravi Adwani - Jun 13, 2019

Parrot is the chosen company by the U.S government over the Chinese giant DJI to feature as future spy aircraft in the U.S defense system.

As a formidable opponent of DJI – a drone-maker from China, Parrot is the chosen one by the U.S military to develop spy aircraft in reconnaissance missions. In fact, in addition to DJI, the deal involves five more companies. This represents a strategic collaboration between the United States and its commercial partners from Europe (such as Parrot) to face the growing dominance from a series of Chinese companies.

parrot-drones — Parrot is the chosen one by the U.S military to develop spy aircraft in reconnaissance missions

As a matter of fact, DJI is currently the most popular and the largest company regarding manufacturing drones. Parrot and a few smaller ones like Yuneec and 3D Robotics have been under its shadow for quite some time. However, we know that the United States under the leadership of President Donald Trump is causing a big pressure on Chinese firms, and Huawei is a typical example. Therefore, it seems that an alternative from the U.S or Europe rather than Chinese brands would be the ultimate “chosen one”.

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While the drone market will allegedly continue to grow sustainably, the commercial drone industry's overall scale isn't enough to meet the huge need from military contracts. According to Envision Intelligence, an analyst firm, applications for military drones take up about 70% of the market. For consumer applications and non-military usages such as climate modeling or filmmaking, the number is 17% and 13%, respectively.

Parrot's win and their future mission

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Clearly, for Parrot, this deal is a huge win for them over their fierce competitor DJI. Parrot's products might not be the number one in quality in comparison to those from other drone-makers. However, the contract does open the door for Parrot to improve over time and act as a trusty DJI alternative.

At the moment, Parrot is about to receive a fund of $11 million from DOD to continue working on their drones. They are aiming for new kinds of reconnaissance drones that can fly three kilometers continuously and up to 30 minutes straight. Additionally, it has to weigh less or equals to three pounds, taking no longer than 2 minutes to set up and fit the standard-issue rucksack of a soldier.