As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary, it faces a new world order dominated by its relationship with China. In this wide-ranging series, we explore the pressure points and possibilities in those relationships, from hard technology to soft power. Here, Khushboo Razdan separates the signal from the noise in the US drone debate.
Whether responding to a wildfire or searching for a missing person, Trooper William Marsiglio of Chesterfield, Virginia, relies on one tool above all others – a an unmanned aircraft.
The drone helps Marsiglio crews locate victims, map flood zones and assess the danger zone from the air.
The Chinese-made, undeveloped car also stands at the center of the fiercest political contest of the 21st century and has become a major strategic issue for the United States as it approaches its 250th anniversary.
For nearly a decade, Marsiglio’s department has used DJI systems, developed by a 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 block devices they deem vital to public safety and life.
“We have had many uses, successes and life safety successes because of the drone being on the scene,” Marsiglio wrote in his filing with the US Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in May.
