This week, ten-year-old drone company ACSL announced plans to enter the US commercial drone market. The company has already taken a sizeable bite out of the market in its native Japan, with a certification from the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transportation and Tourism of the country, as well as an agreement to provide disaster support for the Fire and Disaster Management Agency. It says it is the largest in the country by number of employees, revenue and market capitalization.
The United States is a no-brainer for a company like ACSL. It’s a massive market for drones, but government use has been hampered, in part by blacklisting. In October of last year, for example, the Defense Department included DJI on a list of “Chinese military companies.” He noted in a statement:
The Department is determined to highlight and counter the PRC’s Military-Civilian Fusion strategy, which supports the modernization goals of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) by ensuring that the enterprises, universities and research centers of the People’s Republic of China acquire and develop their access to advanced technologies and knowledge. programs that appear to be civilian entities.
That’s just one in a small list of problems Shenzhen-based DJI has faced in the United States, since the US government began tightening restrictions during the Trump presidency. Those problems have only continued to escalate for the drone maker, which currently controls more than 70% of the global market.
While DJI drones have remained popular with consumers, government contracts have been a whole different story. The bans have proven to be a boon for US-based Skydio, which reached a $2.2 billion valuation in February, months after winning several major government contracts.
This news finds ACSL building their USA team.
“ACSL has been working hard to establish itself in its local market with a line that has proven to be a reliable tool that delivers results,” Global CTO Chris Raabe said in a statement. “We started hosting product demos for potential customers in the US late last year. With the opening of our subsidiary here in California, I am making the US my base, to be personally involved in our activity in the field, meeting these customers, demonstrating our capabilities and learning about their needs”.
SOTEN will be the first of ACSL’s products to be available in the United States. The foldable drone, which hit the Japanese market in 2021, bears more than a passing resemblance to DJI’s popular Mavic line. The exact schedule and prices have not been announced. The company says only that it will “offer a competitively priced NDAA compliant small drone to the US market later this year.”
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