Russia Praises DJI Mavic Drone as ‘True Symbol of Modern Warfare’

Chinese drone maker DJI has been singled out for praise by a former Russian army general because its drones have proved so useful during Russia’s military operations.

As the South China Morning Post reports(Opens in a new window), Army General Yuri Baluyevsky is the former Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Russian Federation. A new book written by Baluyevsky states that the the DJI Mavic drone specifically has had a “revolutionary” impact on warfare by enhancing the accuracy of artillery weapons. By hovering the Mavic over a target, Baluyevsky compares the accuracy offered to precision-guided missiles.

The problem for DJI and China is Russia deciding to advertise the fact it loves these drones. On Friday, the Russian embassy in China published a post on the Weibo microblogging service citing a report from Russian state media outlet Sputnik about Baluyevsky’s book. The post included a quote from Baluyevsky which said, “The Mavic quadcopter drone made by China’s DJI has become a true symbol of modern warfare.”

The Russian embassy has since taken down the post, but not before Chinese users reacted angrily to its “malicious intent” by flooding the post with comments. DJI responded with its own post on Weibo stating, “All DJI products are designed for civilian purposes and cannot meet the requirements of military specifications … We do not support applications for military purposes.”

Last year, the US placed DJI on an investment ban list because it was enabling China’s military-industrial complex, with surveillance of Uyghurs in Xinjiang pointed to as a specific example. Then in April this year, DJI attempted to stop its drones being used by Russia in its war with Ukraine. Sales of all DJI drones were suspended in Russia, but based on Baluyevsky comments, it was clearly too little too late.