According to recent reports from Ukraine, the Chinese drone producer @DJIGlobal have limited the capabilities of its "Aeroscope" technology for Ukrainian army, giving a significant air reconnaissance edge to Russian invaders.
Read more: What is AEROSCOPE? (1/N)
DJI Aeroscope is basically a piece of proprietary hardware allowing to track the movement of any DJI drone in the range of 10 kilometres. Along with supplementary DJI-made antennae the range can be extended up to 50 kilometres. (2/N)
Besides that, Aeroscope technology allows one to see the EXACT position of the drone operator as well as his personal details which he used when registering with DJI. (3/N)
The Ukrainian military uses various models of DJI drones in their reconnaissance activities. There is no wonder in that - DJI is the largest drone maker in the world. (4/N)
Though Russians are using Aeroscope hardware, they use the technology to track the drone operators' positions in order to target their artillery/rocket fire. In other words, Russians use DJI technology to kill Ukrainian drone operators. (5/N)
According to the most recent reports from the Ukrainian army, the Aeroscope technology is effectively turned off for Ukrainian operators.
In fact, while Russians have the technical capabilities to track Ukrainian DJI drone operators, the Ukrainian army can not do the same. (6/N)
This, in turn, means that the largest Chinese drone manufacturing company secretly supports the actions of the Russian army in Ukraine. By providing access to all its technology capacities to Russians and turning them off remotely for Ukrainians. (7/7)
Please note, this might turn out to be a technical problem.
But this is unlikely, as there are also reports that:
1. DJI will limit or completely stop supplies of their drones to Ukraine
2. Could enable a No-Fly-Zone in Ukraine at any time soon
I hope to see an official statement and clarification from @DJIGlobal soon.
Meanwhile, DJI owners in Ukraine are advised not to update any software or firmware, turn off geolocation, and only register their drones outside of Ukraine.
Got reports of a few Aeroscope systems still working in Ukraine, hovewer many others (including those guarding nuclear plants) refuse to work.
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