By South China Morning Post | Created at 2026-06-25 22:15:44 | Updated at 2026-06-26 00:10:07
2 hours ago
As the United States marks the 250th anniversary of its founding, it confronts a new world order dominated by its relationship with China. In this wide-ranging series, we examine the pressure points and possibilities in those ties, from hard tech to soft power. Here, Khushboo Razdan separates the signals from the noise in the US debate over drones.
Whether responding to a wildfire or searching for a missing person, Battalion Chief William Marsiglio of Chesterfield, Virginia, relies on one tool above all others – a
The drone helps Marsiglio’s crews locate victims, map flood zones and assess dangerous terrain from the skies.
Made in China, the uncrewed aerial vehicle also happens to stand at the heart of the 21st century’s fiercest geopolitical competition and has become a major strategic headache for a United States approaching its 250th birthday.
For nearly a decade, Marsiglio’s department has used DJI systems, made by the Chinese company that dominates the global commercial drone market.
Now, as Washington tightens restrictions on Chinese technology, he is among more than 3,000 Americans urging federal regulators not to restrict equipment they consider essential to public safety and livelihoods.
“We have had countless uses, successes and life-safety wins because of the drone being on scene,” Marsiglio wrote in a filing to the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in May.
