According to data released by Teal Group, an aviation analysis and consulting company, in 2019, commercial drones produced by China’s DJI, Sub-Zero, EHang and other companies accounted for 85% of the global market share.
China’s military drones have developed rapidly in recent years, and their technology and scale have reached the world’s leading level. The Wing Loong and Rainbow series drones are currently very hot products in the international arms market. They are used in various countries in the Middle East. It has performed well in hot spots and Asian-Afghan conflicts. Saudi Arabia used Wing Loong drones to deal with the elusive Houthi armed forces, with good results. Iraq used Rainbow series drones to conduct hundreds of air strikes against IS armed forces, with a success rate of nearly 100. In the Asian-Afghan conflict, the Armenian army suffered heavy casualties under the ubiquitous attacks of Azerbaijani drones.
Generally speaking, China’s current drones are at the forefront of the world in terms of technical level (there is still a certain gap compared to the high-end drones in the United States), and their market share is the highest in the world. Considering that there are hundreds of thousands of sorties every year Given the scale of exports, many people are worried about whether our drone technology will leak. In recent years, in order to prevent "technology theft", the United States has almost banned the export of all high-tech products to China, but this The "effect" is quite good. On the contrary, it promotes our self-reliance and accelerates the rapid development of various fields.
Of course, we export so many drones, whether they are for military or civilian use. In fact, we don’t have to worry too much about technology leaks. After all, the safety of relevant technologies is guaranteed.
First of all: People who want our top-notch drones can’t get them, and people who don’t want them won’t get them.
Today’s drones are no longer the traditional concept of model aircraft, but the integration of the entire technology industry chain and the entire command and control system, especially large-scale military and commercial drones. In addition to the hardware itself , there is also a complete set of satellite navigation, command communications, intelligent control, avionics power, weapons and equipment, etc., similar to the Rainbow series of high-end integrated surveillance and combat drones. There are no more countries in the world that can completely produce them independently. 5. Other small and medium-sized countries, no matter how powerful they are, can only master part of the technology. Countries like the United States with highly developed drone technology (except for the lack of cost advantage) simply do not like Chinese drones. They will not find ways to obtain the technology inside. Moreover, even if they are obtained, the system in the drone is not compatible with the entire American system and has little value.
So, in terms of research level, countries like the United States look down upon our drone technology, while generally small and medium-sized developed countries cannot develop a complete set of it even if they do.
Secondly, Chinese drones are really cheap. In order to deal with militants, Saudi Arabia is willing to buy high-end Chinese drones. It doesn’t hurt if one costs hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars. These drones are chasing militants in Yemen and other places, and they don’t feel bad if they are damaged. This is much more cost-effective than pilots flying hundreds of millions of dollars worth of fighter planes to bomb militants. For these small and medium-sized countries, buying drones is much more cost-effective. Human machines are useful, but they are limited in size. You can just buy some of them. There is no need to study the production process and do it yourself. After all, the cost is not cost-effective. Even if you have acquired some core technologies, what about other related fields? Then it becomes a big system research and development project, which is not cost-effective.
Third: Under normal circumstances, the mid-to-high-end military products sold by Wuchang are all reduced versions, and the core technologies, indicators, and specifications are canceled or reduced, such as range, accuracy, etc. Indicators, countries that have bought drones can only get some old and mature technologies even if they conduct in-depth research.
Fourth: This involves patent protection. These drones in China are protected by patents, and the products sold are also signed with detailed patent protection clauses. If the buyer is wanton If he dismantles or leaks our technology, he will face sky-high claims and damage to his international reputation. After all, international sellers don’t like such customers. Of course, he can choose to cheat, and he may be in the international market in the future. It will no longer be able to buy drones, and it will even become a black player in the international arms market. No one can afford the consequences and losses. If it has a bad reputation, it will be difficult to gain a foothold in the international community.
Fifth: In the era of technological explosion, technological progress is so fast that so-called technology leaks are of little significance.
The current drone technology is improving almost every year. The technology of 2020 may be outdated next year. Only by always maintaining its strong R&D capabilities and investment can we stand in the fierce market. The key to survival is that instead of worrying about your technology being leaked, it is better to seize more time to develop better technology and continuously promote the technological progress of drones. This is the real core competitiveness.