Chinese drone engineer is restricting ISIS’ ability to fly

Chinese drone maker DJI is working on a software that can define no-fly zones for their aircraft in order to avoid use by terrorist groups like the Islamic State (EI) in areas of conflict such as Iraq and Syria.

The drone maker has increased areas where its devices cannot fly to avoid attacks in Iraq and Syria, but it does not rule out terrorists being able to hack the software or create their own drones.

Terrorists in the Middle East have [been increasingly using drones in combat], equipping them with homemade explosives. But the leading global manufacturer of drones has decided to react.

Militiamen use drones equipped with explosives, thus making them flying bombs or a means to release explosives over a given target.

This year, the terrorist organization even announced that it had established a unit to handle this type of device, and claims they killed or injured 39 Iraqi soldiers in just one week.

Now, Chinese drone maker DJI has decided to counter-attack using the company's drone software that can define no-fly zones in which the aircraft is barred from entering, MIT Technology Review said.

Normally this capacity is used to prevent consumers from flying their aircraft over restricted areas, such as airports and military bases. But now DJI seems to have added a number of locations in Syria and Iraq to the list, including the city of Mosul (Iraq), USA Today reported.

Also read: US military explores more anti-drone technology

So far it is unknown whether the measure will be fully effective, since the software can be modified to avoid the no-fly zones and because not all the drones used by the EI are commercial products.

It is also possible that the terrorist organization has developed its own aircraft from scratch from pieces of rudimentary components and cores.

Established in 2006 by Frank Wang, DJI has its headquarters in Shenzhen, the epicenter of factories, brands, and technology development in China.

The company currently employs 3 thousand people and has offices in the United States (Los Angeles), South Korea, Germany (Frankfurt), the Netherlands, and Japan (Tokyo), with two additional centers in China, located in Beijing and Hong Kong.