US Air Force buys Chinese-made DJI drones to train nuclear missile base security forces
Security forces guarding US nuclear missiles will train against Chinese-made drones on their own base. The Air Force is buying DJI drones for F.E. Warren AFB in Wyoming, home to Minuteman III ICBMs, per an Aug. 14 solicitation citing DJI's 80-85% market share. Data transfer is so
The US Air Force is buying Chinese-made DJI drones for F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming, one of three US installations operating Minuteman III intercontinental ballistic missiles, according to Defence Blog. An Aug. 14 solicitation from the base's 90th Contracting Squadron, which supports the 90th Missile Security Operations Squadron under Air Force Global Strike Command, argues that computer-simulated data or US-made drones alone would leave security forces untested against DJI's actual radio signatures and communication protocols. The justification cites DJI's 80 to 85 percent share of the global drone market. The drones will run modified RIZER software intended to block data transfer before use. Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana, another Global Strike Command missile site, is pursuing or already using similar DJI platforms for its own counter-drone training, per the same report. The arrangement highlights a persistent tension in US defense procurement: realistic counter-drone training depends on flying the same hardware that adversaries and hobbyists actually use, which for drones means Chinese-made equipment, even at facilities tied to the nuclear deterrent. Software-level data blocking addresses part of the concern, but it does not eliminate the fact that foreign-manufactured hardware is now physically present at a site defending part of the US nuclear arsenal.