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UK government officials have raised private concerns that Chinese-manufactured drones are being used to take high resolution images of critical national infrastructure sites in the UK, going against guidance from the country’s security services.

National Grid Plc, which operates the nation’s electricity and gas networks, uses drones made by Shenzhen-based SZ DJI Technology Co. to take videos, photographs and thermal images of its electricity substations, according to information posted on its website as recently as September.

DJI drones have also been used to survey the construction of Electricite de France SA’s Hinkley Point C nuclear power plant, to inspect solar farms, and by Thames Water to monitor reservoirs and the water supply.

Deployment of the drones comes despite a warning in 2023 by the UK’s National Protective Security Authority (NPSA), part of the domestic security service MI5, that British organizations managing sensitive sites should be wary of using drones “manufactured in countries with coercive data sharing practices,” a reference to China. Moreover, in 2022, the US Department of Defense included DJI on a blacklist of Chinese firms with military ties.

National Grid said it follows government guidance, while Thames Water said it takes security “seriously.”

EDF didn’t respond to requests for comment.

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“It is reasonable to be concerned around the alleged widespread use of Chinese drones to map and track the performance of critical UK national infrastructure,” said Sam Goodman, senior director of policy at the China Strategic Risks Institute in London.

“At the very least, without British companies undertaking modification of these drones including software patches, this could pose a significant data security and national security risk to the UK, as DJI is legally required to provide data and cooperation with China’s Ministry of State Security under the PRC’s National Intelligence Law.”

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Prime Minister Keir Starmer is pursuing closer economic ties with China, even amid those security concerns and President Donald Trump’s trade war with the Asian nation.

Last year, Bloomberg reported that British officials were concerned Chinese state actors had made widespread — and likely successful — efforts to access British critical infrastructure networks, underscoring fears of vulnerabilities to increasingly sophisticated efforts by foreign powers to compromise security.

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Meanwhile the UK’S NPSA’s advice to British companies states: “the first line of defense for organisations wishing to use unmanned aerial systems (UAS) may be to restrict UAS and associated component procurement from countries which pose a risk to security.”

Using Chinese-made drones at key sites in Britain pose a risk because Chinese national security laws can compel its companies to share data with the state, according to a UK government official who requested anonymity discussing a sensitive issue.

[…]

DJI drones were able to capture “incredibly valuable, accurate data” at Hinkley Point nuclear power plant, according to Skymatics, a surveying company which ran the project at the site.

The site is part-owned by China General Nuclear Power Group. Representatives for EDF did and Skymatics did not respond to requests for comment.

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