The U.S. Department of Interior today grounded all of its nonemergency drones over concerns that the aircraft present a risk to national security.

Though not specifically naming China as the risk, The Wall Street Journal reported that the decision stems from concerns that drones made in China or with Chinese parts could be used by the Chinese government for espionage and other nefarious purposes. Exceptions apply for training as well as for emergencies such as tracking wildfires,but day-to-day operations are banned.

“Drones are important to critical Department of the Interior missions, such as combating wildfires and conducting life-saving search and rescue operations; however, we must ensure that the technology used for these operations is such that it will not compromise our national security interests,” DOI spokesperson Carol Danko said in a statement. “After an ongoing review of Interior’s drone program, Secretary Bernhardt issued a Secretary’s Order today, affirming the temporary cessation of non-emergency drones while we ensure that cybersecurity, technology and domestic production concerns are adequately addressed.”

Addressing concerns that the suspension of some 800 drones would affect the department’s activities, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt told the Journal that he believed the department would be “very able” to complete its objectives “without sacrifice.” He added that he hoped that domestic drone makers would replace Chinese equipment at some point.

The problem is finding a domestic drone maker that doesn’t use Chinese parts or manufactures its drones in China. Intel Corp. offers a range of commercial drones but likely sources some parts from China.

Dà-Jiāng Innovations Science and Technology Co. Ltd., better known as DJI and the leading drone manufacturer by market share in the U.S., responded to the news by saying that it was “extremely disappointed by the U.S. Department of the Interior order which inappropriately treats a technology’s country of origin as a litmus test for its performance, security and reliability.”

The company added that “the security of our products designed specifically for the DOI and other U.S. government agencies have been independently tested and validated by U.S. cybersecurity consultants, U.S. federal agencies including the Department of Interior and the Department of Homeland Security, which proves today’s decision has nothing to do with security.”

The decision by the DOI to ban Chinese drones follows a warning issued by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security in May that there are “strong concerns about any technology product that takes American data into the territory of an authoritarian state that permits its intelligence services to have unfettered access to that data or otherwise abuses that access.”

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