Germany has ordered an immediate ban on commercially available Chinese-made drones at its military bases and training grounds. The decision stems from growing security concerns among Western defense officials regarding the potential for sensitive data to be transmitted to Beijing.
Immediate Withdrawal of Equipment
According to reports from the German magazine Der Spiegel, the ban requires military units to withdraw these devices from service as quickly as possible. The defense ministry did not immediately provide a comment on the directive.
The order addresses a gap in previous procurement protocols. Under a 2024 strategy, local commanders were permitted to purchase drones from a “white list” of approved systems. This list included products from DJI, the world’s largest drone manufacturer based in China. Because there is no central registry tracking purchases by individual units, the military has had to impose a blanket prohibition to ensure compliance.
Der Spiegel noted that many of these devices were acquired in recent years with limited bureaucratic oversight. The current directive aims to rectify this lack of centralized control.
Part of Broader Western Security Push
The German action mirrors similar moves by other Western nations. The United States military recently banned BYD electric vehicles from entering Kadena Airbase on Okinawa, Japan. Kadena is the largest US Air Force base in East Asia and plays a critical role in responding to potential crises involving China, Russia, or North Korea.
Lt Col Alli Stormer, a spokesperson for the US Air Force, stated that these vehicles present an “unacceptable and unmitigable risk” to personnel and missions. While American officials have not identified a specific threat, the ban is part of wider measures to restrict Chinese smart technology in vehicles, mobile phones, and other devices.
Similar concerns have driven actions in other European countries. In February, Poland barred Chinese-made vehicles from its military facilities, citing fears that onboard sensors could collect sensitive data. The Polish army indicated that such vehicles might still be permitted on secured sites if specific functions are disabled and other security safeguards are applied.
European Political Pressure Mounts
Political pressure is also increasing within the European Union. Last week, a group of Members of the European Parliament urged the European Commission to assess whether BYD cars pose a security threat. The parliamentarians suggested excluding such vehicles from public procurement purchases.
François Kalfon, a French MEP leading the initiative, highlighted China’s 2017 national intelligence law. He argued that this law requires companies to cooperate with the state, making connected vehicles from third countries an unacceptable security risk for sensitive European infrastructure.
The 14 parliamentarians asked that the EU’s cybersecurity agency assess the threat level and potentially include BYD on a list of high-risk suppliers. This follows safety advice issued by the Dutch government in September, which warned that smart features in modern vehicles, including microphones, cameras, and GPS trackers, could be exploited by hostile states.
BYD has denied these allegations. In a statement, the company said no data processed or stored in its vehicles or the cloud could be remotely accessed from China. The firm asserted that customers remain in control of their data and that BYD Europe does not make such data available to entities in China.
This latest development follows a 2018 ban by the US defense department on smartphones from Huawei and ZTE at military bases worldwide. The pattern of restrictions suggests a coordinated effort across Western militaries to limit reliance on Chinese technology in sensitive operational environments.
Source: The Guardian
