Comment by Espressosaurus
2 days ago
"What does this mean?
• New devices on the Covered List, such as foreign-made drones, are prohibited from receiving FCC authorization and are therefore prohibited from being imported for use or sale in the U.S. This update to the Covered List does not prohibit the import, sale, or use of any existing device models the FCC previously authorized.
• This action does not affect any previously-purchased drone. Consumers can continue to use any drone they have already lawfully purchased or acquired."
Commentary: DJI has effectively been banned from operation in the US (unable to import anything with a transmitter, including most of their gimbals, mics, and other photography related equipment) They represent 70 to 80% of the US drone market. Probably closer to 100% for those that fly noncommercially. Autel, the other large manufacturer, is also banned.
If drones are a threat to national security, then all existing drones should be grounded, regardless of the manufacturer. Or, if Chinese drones are the threat, then all existing Chinese-made drones should be grounded?
I don't understand how banning future drones helps national security in any way.
>> banning future drones
It is about money. If they ban drones that are already inside the US, they risk lawsuits by drone owners/importers for expropriation of their property. Banning things that are not already inside the country is easier as nobody has an absolute right to import stuff.
It is akin to weapons bans. Banning future sales of machine guns is far far easier to implement than outlawing those already sitting in gun cabinets across the country. The former is free to implement, the later very expensive.
The grandfathering clause is the tell. If these drones were an active national security threat, they wouldn't let civilians keep flying them.
This looks like industrial policy masquerading as defense in order to clear the board for domestic manufacturers just as the Pentagon starts handing out contracts to politically connected players.
Case in point: Unusual Machines just secured a massive Army contract for drone motors. Their advisor and major shareholder? Donald Trump Jr. [0]. Banning the import of foreign "critical components" conveniently forces the market into their funnel.
[0] https://www.ft.com/content/4cedc140-4a02-4ab6-9f78-93dd8c51a...
agree re policy, but technically... it's possible that today's drones are OK but they're worried about future drones including something new...
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The goal (assuming rational policy) is improving security over time.
The economic and political costs of grounding everything now are too high to do that. Even if the FCC somehow had the manpower to enforce such a ban.
It's just how these things normally work. Assault rifle bans. Magazine capacity bans. Automobile safety requirements. The old, determined unsafe items are allowed to remain, only new are prevented.
In this case the geopolitical shift is relatively recent, so the fear is companies will be pushed to do more than they were in the past.
Well this would be step one to try to motivate some US company to start manufacturing. Then once it ramps up they can step in with banning existing stuff without causing too much disruption.
Exactly, it's about supply chains. Banning existing drones with no replacements on offer would be unnecessarily disruptive.
Though the US should probably just learn from China: Does DJI want to sell in the US? Setup a 50-50 JV with domestic production, skill and technology transfers, or go away.
Wouldn't you want the opposite? Once domestic production ramps up you gradually lift import restrictions to create more competition. I guess that's if the intention is to improve the domestic market in the national interest, rather than to just make people rich.
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If I understand correctly, this doesn't ban the import/sale of drone models which the FCC previously approved. That said, in October 2025 the FCC granted itself the authority to retroactively revoke previously-approved models, so this is something they could still potentially do.
It bans the import, but not sale of models the FCC has previously approved.
Your originally quoted text explicitly disagrees with you: "This update to the Covered List does not prohibit the import, sale, or use of any existing device models the FCC previously authorized."
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So, America just shot itself in the foot again. It's starting to look like a pattern.
It’s like a poorly executed form of protectionism. I guess they’re doing the best they can, can’t expect people unfit for office to create good policy, right.
Presumably it moves some stock prices or helps a company who bought a ticket/altcoin from Trump. I expect it achieves the intended effect.
Well.. DJI have on-the-fly no fly zone update, and newer model can communicate via satellite.
That's worse if you believe there are possibility of war...
Attack vector: drone needs to get out of a case, backpack or closet, out of the window and fly somewhere to do something.
Meanwhile IoT devices, internet connected kitchen appliances just need to be able to be remotely activated to create a power surge and overwhelm the electric grid. Those can be sold no problem.
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Oh no, what will we do without cheap Chinese drones spying on us
I want to believe this is some ploy to open the market for some US manufacturer that slipped a few thousand dollars in an envelope but I have a sneaking suspicion that nobody is coming to fill the void left by this naive protectionism. (Or is it deliberate sabotage? I don't even know anymore)
If it was phased in and didn't specifically include allied country imports, I could believe that.
This door-slamming-shut-suddenly method says there is no plan, and given we don't domestically make most of the critical components ourselves, at best it's going to take awhile to build the factories and expertise to make up for the loss of the biggest suppliers in the market.
We'll get to pay much higher prices for much worse products while we do so.
Just looking at what's available for enterprise use (since there is no consumer-selling US drone company at this point) it looks like US companies are around a decade behind.
It's crazy that it also bans new models from Europe's Wingtra, Quantum Systems, and AgEagle, which are basically the only consumer fixed-wing drones available. Heck, those companies were even previously approved for the DOD's "Blue UAS" list: https://bluelist.appsplatformportals.us/Cleared-List/
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The primary goal of the Trump administration is to destroy American manufacturing. They don't want factories, hence all the tariffs.
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Skydio? For a while they were #2 in consumer drones but found they couldn't compete with DJI and exited the consumer market in 2023. They now do > 50% of their business for the U.S. military and are in tight with the U.S. government. Could be a plan to re-enter the consumer market, this time with no competition.
> some US manufacturer that slipped a few thousand dollars
As if they even need to do it surreptitiously. They'd just announce it in the Oval Office with a giant gold plaque for Trump, a few million bucks for the ballroom, and agree that government purchases can be made in Trumpcoin.
Rotor Riot sells a flight controller made in USA. Donald Trump Jr. is on the advisory board of Unusual Machines that owns Rotor Riot.
Does that mean that DJI can continue to sell models that they've already been selling in the US?
Wow. The text of the determination is just unhinged completely: https://www.fcc.gov/sites/default/files/National-Security-De...
> Federal planning for the 2026 FIFA World Cup and 2028 Olympics already assumes that UAS will be a central threat vector. CISA’s soft‑target and UAS guidance notes that crowded venues, transportation nodes, and public‑gathering areas are particularly vulnerable to hostile drone activity.9 Recent congressional hearings on mass‑gathering security have emphasized that UAS are now a routine part of incident planning, alongside more traditional threats.10 The Federal Emergency Management Agency, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Department of War are already investing heavily in detection, tracking, and mitigation capabilities with these specific events in mind.11 UAS are also playing a critical enabling role on the battlefield in many modern conflicts. In Ukraine and Israel-Gaza, low-cost commercial UAS inflict extensive damage and have caused significant loss of life.12 Drug Cartels are also reportedly using foreign-produced UAS to smuggle drugs into the United States and carry out attacks.
I'm sure, the ban on DJI devices will stop fentanyl and terrorists.
So now in addition to snuggling fentanyl they'll also be smuggling the drones. Twofer.