Chinese Drone Ban Talk Boosts Archer, Joby Stocks

If Chinese drones are shut off, it will cause the drone service provider (DSP) industry to cease to exist. This is an industry projected to be $15B within 5 years. US OEMs do not currently have the infrastructure to support the industry nor the quality of the Chinese drones. We got here by falling asleep at the wheel for over a decade. Now we find ourselves in a ditch needing a tow.

Solution:

  1. Establish cybersecurity standards that All OEMs regardless of origin country must adhere to in order to sell drones in the US. This sets a level playing field and forces transparency. Why friendly countries? Because a) Israel and NATO countries have been caught spying on the US, and b) there are even US manufacturers of equipment (mostly arms) that are owned by potential domestic terrorist (e.g., sovereign citizens).
  2. Require all drones in the US to have geofencing to enforce airspace restrictions to critical infrastructure. This should be linked to live publicly available airspace restriction data bases. (Visualize it). Geofencing can be released with a controlling agency issued token.
  3. If Chinese or other countries can adhere to these standards, it is an open market.
  4. Fund US OEM development. Create innovation contests with hefty prize money for entrepreneurs. Create grants and government backed loans for small business development. However, this funding cannot just focus on military or enterprise grade drones. It also needs to fill the prosumer gap (e.g., Mavic 3, Air 3S, Autel 640T, etc.).
  5. Grandfather existing Chinese equipment for at least 5 years. Most DSPs sunset their equipment every 3 year due to end of life issues.

A free market economy will sort it all out, if standards are created and enforced. Much of the Chinese threat has been overstated. DOD and DHS have been caught doing (at best) sloppy research, but more than likely deliberate obfuscation at the behest of the US drone OEM lobby. Just look at the past 5 years of US OEM lobbying accounting on Open Secrets. The is a distinct spike in contributions aligning with anti-Chinese drone rhetoric. Don’t believe me, look for yourself.

BTW, what all this have to do with Joby and Archer? They do not make drones.