How important is drone data security to customers?

If it wasn’t already clear how much of a priority drone data security is to customers, this data point makes it clear. A drone customer survey found that 85 percent of customers say that “data security of the drone” was very or somewhat important when selecting a drone platform. Those were the results of a 2024 Teledyne FLIR drone survey centered around drone data security.

Here were some other interesting data points uncovered in that survey:

• 89% of respondents agreed or somewhat agreed that they want to choose whether data is sent to the cloud
• 68% of respondents expressed some level of concern that data captured by their respective drone programs might be accessible to foreign governments or other entities that might be considered hostile to their organization/work
• 49% of respondents had been impacted by regulation around drones originating from “countries of concern”
• 23% of respondents say they actively seek alternative drone options. 

The survey polled 629 drone professionals across public safety and enterprise businesses in the U.S. Teledyne FLIR, which is an American tech company most famous in the drone industry for its thermal cameras, conducted the survey.

Teledyne conducted the survey between July and August 2024. Respondents were all U.S. adults, and 74% of respondents said they were a Part 107-certified pilot.

Survey recognizes impact of legislation to ban drones on drone data security in 2024

One huge highlight is how approximately half (well, 49 percent, to be exact) of the survey respondents said their organizations had been impacted by legislation seeking to limit or ban drones from certain countries. That largely applies to drones made in China. Now there isn’t actually a ton of legislation yet outright banning drones from “countries of concern” on the federal level. However, there is no shortage of proposed legislation, rulings, advisories, or guidance. And, it stems from all sorts of tiers, including U.S. local, state, and federal government entities.

Among the most notable proposals is the Countering CCP Drones Act. Introduced by Republican Representatives Elise Stefanik (R-NY) and Mike Gallagher (R-WI), it targets DJI. If enacted, it would ban new drones made by DJI, which is headquartered in China. A version of the Countering CCP Drones Act appeared in the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA FY25). That act passed in June 2024 the U.S. House of Representatives by a narrow margin that fell along party lines. Another example is the DFR Act, which would impose tariffs on Chinese-made drones. Though it wouldn’t ban drones, that legislation would certainly make them more expensive.

Now while a huge majority of clients value drone data security in 2024, it is worth noting that this isn’t anything super new. The results of the 2024 survey are largely consistent with responses from the 2023 version of the same survey.

“Both industrial and public safety professionals continue to express concern over data security and privacy, which explains why a significant majority of respondents want more choice regarding how their drone-collected data is handled,” said Mike Walters, a vice president, at Teledyne FLIR. “Drone professionals are also recognizing the need to adapt to enacted or proposed regulations that require a transition away from drone platforms originating from countries of concern.”

Where FLIR fits in

Now it’s worth nothing that, in some capacity, FLIR stands to gain by legislation that would ban or limit DJI drones. FLIR builds thermal cameras used on American drones. That includes the Teal 2 from Teal, as well as drones from Vantage Robotics.

On the other hand, Chinese drone maker DJI makes its own thermal cameras. While at one point DJI did in fact partner with FLIR to mount FLIR’s thermal cameras on its enterprise drones, the companies have since split ways. Now, if you want a thermal camera on something like the DJI Mavic 3 drone, you’d be best off buying the version called the DJI Mavic 3T, which has a built-in thermal camera. DJI’s thermal camera line also includes products like the Zenmuse XT.

In 2020, approximately 31% of FLIR’s revenues came from the U.S. federal government and its agencies. Federal entities have long been more likely to use American made drones versus Chinese drones (like DJI drones) for a few reasons. That includes existing requirements to use American-made products, as well as other factors such as bigger budgets than what a drone small business might have. Should such legislation that capitalizes on data privacy concerns pass, companies like FLIR would likely see major revenue bumps.

Right now, the share of American drones in the advanced sensor space is still small. For example, drone mapping software company DroneDeploy shared a list of the most-used drones amongst its customers. The data, gathered in mid-2023 showed that DJI dominated. The first seven spots on its top 10 list of most used sensors and drones were all DJI products. The first non-DJI spot went to the Sensefly SODA in position 8. That was followed by the Sony RX1 and then the Skydio 2+ drone.

That said, FLIR could continue to grow — government mandated or not. That’s due to better partnerships and product launches.

For example, FLIR recently launched an improved version of its Hadron 640 series thermal camera. That’s by way of the Hadron 640+. The AI-powered thermal camera features enhanced thermal sensitivity, as well as what’s called a “SWaP-Optimized design.” That basically means it can more easily integrate into various drone use cases.

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