Hey there followers! Today I’m here to talk about DJI’s decision to quietly discontinue their drone-detecting AeroScope system.

DJI’s product page now displays a pop-up that reads: “The Aeroscope is no longer in production. For the latest in DJI technology, please view our product recommendations below.” It’s still not clear whether existing AeroScope devices will lose functionality, or if the platform’s going away forever.

DJI describes AeroScope as a “comprehensive drone detection platform” that can identify and track drones in real time using the receiver signals broadcasted by newer DJI drones. This signal provides AeroScope users with information like flight status, path, and pilot location from drones up to about 30 miles away.

Last year, Ukrainian Vice Prime Minister Mykhailo Fedorov blamed DJI for “helping Russia to kill the Ukrainians,” as Russian soldiers allegedly used the company’s AeroScope receivers to find and attack Ukrainian drone operators with aerial strikes.

DJI ended up blocking shipments to both Russia and Ukraine over concerns about the weaponization of its products last year, and also discontinued the portable version of its AeroScope system months later.

According to Brendan Schulman, the former vice president of policy at DJI, there are “probably two reasons” behind DJI’s decision to discontinue AeroScope: “It doesn’t make sense to continue supporting a feature that was created to assist US security interests when being constantly attacked by US security agencies,” he writes, while also citing the Federal Aviation Administration’s implementation of Remote ID.

Starting on September 16th, 2023, most drone operators in the US will only be able to fly aircraft with built-in remote broadcast capabilities or a retrofitted remote ID broadcast module — essentially what DJI has already been doing with its newer drones and AeroScope. The only time drone operators can use a device that doesn’t emit remote ID signals is if they’re flying in FAA-recognized identified areas.

Just days before AeroScope’s apparent discontinuation came to light, a report from Wired revealed that researchers have created a tool that receives signals from DJI drones through more affordable third-party devices, letting them pick up on the GPS locations of the device and its pilot without the need for an AeroScope system.

So there you have it – that’s why DJI has decided to quietly discontinue their drone-detecting AeroScope system. It’ll be interesting to see how this decision affects DJI’s other products going forward.