Chinese
drones are leading the global market, but hidden “watchdog” technology is in place to limit their use in attacks on China.A source close to
the military said all Chinese combat and reconnaissance drones had been designed and developed to recognise an “electric geofence” encircling the borders of China’s territory.
“This is the so-called watchdog tool, which is a simple technology aimed at making sure Chinese exported drones are not used by enemies as weapons to attack our country,” said the source, who asked for anonymity because of the issue’s sensitivity.
The function – included in the implantable components and parts of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) – was declared by Chinese developers in their instruction books, the source said.
The comments appear to confirm claims last year by the head of a leading Turkish drone developer, who told Indian-Canadian website EurAsian Times that Chinese-made UAVs “turned around as they approached the Chinese border”.
Baykar Technology CEO Haluk Bayraktar said “hidden restrictions” and “subpar performance” of drones from China had caused some clients to turn to Turkish UAVs, like his company’s TB2 military devices.
Bayraktar also said that Turkey had already surpassed China’s total drone exports, according to the report published in September.
Beijing-based military expert Li Jie said it was appropriate for Chinese UAV developers to make national security the top priority, not their business. It was also “common knowledge” that they embed “watchdog” technologies in products for sale overseas.
“All drones need to be guided by positions connecting with the US-owned GPS or China’s BeiDou navigation system, so it should be very sensitive by longitude and latitude data, allowing developers to embed data information inside its hardware,” he said.