U.S.-China Drone Rivalry on Everest Summit: Fierce Contest Over Supply Transport

Battle for Industrial Drone Leadership in 'Climbing Support'
US Freefly Chasing Chinese DJI, Which Holds the Lead

The United States and China, who are fiercely competing in fields such as artificial intelligence (AI), are now vying for dominance over industrial drones at Everest (altitude 8,848m), the world’s highest peak.

According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) on the 26th (local time), the United States is actively promoting American-made industrial drones from Freefly Systems in Nepal.

Everest

In May, Sergio Gor, the U.S. Ambassador to India, visited the Everest Base Camp in Nepal and introduced Freefly’s drone, describing it as “American-made with the most advanced technology in the world.” Freefly Systems is headquartered in Woodinville, Washington. The U.S. hopes to enter the Nepalese market, providing climbers with provisions and collecting waste left behind by climbers using Freefly’s industrial drones.

Currently, the local market is dominated by China’s drone manufacturer SZ DJI Technology. Nepalese drone company Airlift Technologies has been partnering with China’s DJI since 2024 to support Everest climbers and Sherpas (climbing guides). DJI’s drones are used to transport supplies from the Everest Base Camp at 5,334 meters altitude up to 6,065 meters and to collect and carry away waste left by climbers. Since this spring, DJI’s industrial drone 'FlyCart 100' has been deployed to retrieve more than 2.7 tons of trash generated by climbers and deliver provisions.

Although DJI drones are currently in use on Everest, there has been confusion regarding the approval of drone deployments by the Nepalese government.

The Nepal Ministry of Home Affairs granted permission to use DJI drones in March this year, marking the start of the spring climbing season, but revoked it in April after one month. After strong protests from climbing camp officials and others, the Nepalese government conditionally allowed DJI drone usage for three months in May.

The U.S. government has classified DJI as a Chinese military company, expressing concerns that information collected by Chinese-made drones could be transferred to the Chinese government. In December last year, the U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) banned new foreign-made drones from being used in the United States, a measure seen as targeting Chinese drones. DJI argued that the U.S. accusations are unfounded protectionism.

According to the WSJ, Everest, located on the border between Nepal and China, was a site of geopolitical rivalry between the United States and China during the Cold War. In the 1960s, the Tibetan resistance, supported by the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), used Mustang, the mountainous region west of Everest, as a stronghold in their fight for Tibetan independence.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.