The FCC ban on all foreign made UAS and UAS "critical components"

[Mrktn]

This really sucks, feel for you guys across the pond. Makes no sense whatsoever.

Nearest thing to DJI drones that the US makes is about 3 years behind innovation wise and will cost three or four times more.

 

[mavic3usa]

More "post-ban" comments from DJI to follow up:

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[rawman001]

DJI can easily fix this.
1. Change name to DJT
2. Make gold Mavic 4 Pro and Mini 5 Pro
3. Create the "DJT International Drone Award for Peace" and create a gold medal complete with a little drone on one side and a certain someone's face on the other.

In all seriousness I hope they figure out something. I'm debating whether to open the Mavic 4 Pro I got or just return it. I know it's legal to register and fly here, I'm just worried about spare parts if I crash it.

 

[anotherlab]

DJI can easily fix this.
1. Change name to DJT
2. Make gold Mavic 4 Pro and Mini 5 Pro
3. Create the "DJT International Drone Award for Peace" and create a gold medal complete with a little drone on one side and a certain someone's face on the other.

In all seriousness I hope they figure out something. I'm debating whether to open the Mavic 4 Pro I got or just return it. I know it's legal to register and fly here, I'm just worried about spare parts if I crash it.

Spare parts for drones that are currently licensed by the FCC should be legal, although they may be less readily available.

 

[Zbip57]

That's just it - none of the other dozens of Chinese made drones are affected by the ban. It's not about the craft and what it can do, it's about who makes it.

Unfortunately, the FCC ban extends to *ALL* "Uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and UAS critical components produced in a foreign country".
See the FCC Dec 22 2025 entry at the bottom of the Appendix-A table on pg 4.
docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-25-1086A1.pdf

The same wording then goes on to also specifically include, "and all communications and video surveillance equipment and services listed in Section 1709(a)(1) of the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act (Pub. L. 118-159)", which uniquely names DJI and Autel.

As written, the ban applies to both;

1. Foreign-made UAS and UAS critical components, and
2. DJI's and Autel's communications and surveillance equipment.

 

[AMann]

Meanwhile, somebody’s family member is undoubtedly going to profit even more with the ban…

https://www.capitoltrades.com/articles/drone-maker-tied-to-donald-trump-jr-secures-u-s-army-contract-2025-10-29

 

[Cafguy]

Hollywood studios, who now use drones extensively (care to guess whose?), will also be prohibited from using them in the US, which probably means they are much more likely to move filming overseas where they can still use them, unless/until there is a US manufacturer that can offer a similarly capable platform. That means a significant chunk of the production budget will be spent overseas too.

Hollywood Studios DO NOT USE DJI DRONES thats a good one. Who told you that, or did you see this in one of DJI's fake "Hollywood" ads.
DJI for hi res film production ....... They make a nice Drone BUT lets not get carried away here.
If this thing goes on for long the search and rescue community will simply switch to cinelifters and mount their cam of choice on them. it sux that our government put DJI in this position BUT here we are..
Its now time for the Builders to step up and keep this whole industry in the air!
Maybe being "weened" off DJI's closed sytem will be a good thing, I know it would save money for those who also pay a service contract to a dji repair place to stay in the air. You never Know.
Having said all this I would very much like to keep my DJI's and fly them for fun and profit like always, but I think where we are headed will make that a fantasy really. I already made display room for mine on the "Shelf queen" shelf.

 

[zocalo]

Hollywood Studios DO NOT USE DJI DRONES thats a good one. Who told you that, or did you see this in one of DJI's fake "Hollywood" ads.
DJI for hi res film production ....... They make a nice Drone BUT lets not get carried away here.

You could start here, with Netflix's approval of the Inspire 3 for its own productions in April this year; the first drone to make the list. You'll note the lack of alternate options on the list, so any footage in a recent Netflix show that was shot on a drone almost certainly used an Inspire. "Game of Thrones" used Inspires, as did "Dune Part 2", "Killers of the Flower Moon", amongst many others. "Top Gun: Maverick" even used DJI FPV drones for some immersive footage. It's not exclusive use, to be sure (no way is a Matrice getting more serious cameras aloft, let alone an IMAX), but you do see them all the time in the studio's own "making of" videos (a lot of Inspires, with some Matrices for larger payloads, mostly), so no, not just DJI marketing blurb, either.

Don't forget that, besides often using lower-end (relatively speaking) gear for B-roll use in movies, the big studios make a whole bunch of regular TV series too, which don't have quite the same budgets in most cases, and need to use less costly equipment as a result. They also shoot a bunch of behind the scenes and planning footage that is never intended for the final production, but is still a essential for the process, and that is often shot on lower end gear, down to prosumer level gear, or even whatever phone a crew member personally had to hand.

 

[Cafguy]

If there was even a way to mount a RED cam onto a DJI Maybe, and while I agree that there are times where maybe, just maybe you might see an inspire. DJI Drones are just way to expensive an option for production use. the upkeep and repair is simply a nightmare! If they even made a cinelifter that was production cost feasible for sure more would use them.BUT Nobody going to stay strictly with a Hasselblad, I just don't see that.
In Hollywood they have a name for a clock during filming its called the 30,000 dollar ticker and every time that hand moves whoever is holding up the day is gonna fork over plenty!
DJI commands the Cam stabilizer world in Hollywood heck I even got a Drone from a DJI Ronin service guy. Why they have not stepped into the realm with a cinelifter is beyond me! Its not like they cant do it. My guess DJI doesnt want to "open" up the firmware so others can tune the drones to the needs of the particular Operator, More importantly, They would see their own OEM parts slowly stripped so that "faster to install" products could be used in their place. Bad move on DJI's part in this section of the industry but they still make Millions on the Ronins..So their not hurting.
Just a note: while having a "backup" Drone in the "Truck" is a nice "Idea"... That space in that truck comes at a premium, and you aint gonna get permission to bring your own vehicle!
EDIT: Kevin LaRosa (Mavericks aerial coordinator) says they used a few taurus customs and some mini whoops on Maverick for a few vehicle scenes.
The aerial shots are done like this.

To view this content we will need your consent to set third party cookies.
For more detailed information, see our cookies page.

Accept third party cookies

 

[dronethrust]

This ban probably won't last long as DJI has no other competitor or substitute.

 

[AMann]

This ban probably won't last long as DJI has no other competitor or substitute.

Uh… it’s going to be with us for at least another 3 years, could be more depending on things. Money talks though, and it also rules the tides of politics.

 

[Cafguy]

This ban probably won't last long as DJI has no other competitor or substitute.

They are out there but they are not near as cheap as DJI can make them. So yes in that regard there is no competition.

 

[anotherlab]

This ban probably won't last long as DJI has no other competitor or substitute.

Huawei has entered the chat...

The U.S. Commerce Department added Huawei to its Entity List back in 2019, with a complete ban in 2022. Other companies stepped in to fill the gap.

DJI doesn't make drones out of Unobtainium. There will be a very real gap in what is available in the marketplace, but other companies will step in. The hardest part will be getting around the made in US restriction. The FCC overstepped there, and I would expect that part to be walked back.

LEO and 1st Responders have a window to make their case to get DJI approved. I don't know how long that window will be open, but it will be a finite amount of time.

 

[zocalo]

Huawei has entered the chat...

The U.S. Commerce Department added Huawei to its Entity List back in 2019, with a complete ban in 2022. Other companies stepped in to fill the gap.

DJI doesn't make drones out of Unobtainium. There will be a very real gap in what is available in the marketplace, but other companies will step in. The hardest part will be getting around the made in US restriction. The FCC overstepped there, and I would expect that part to be walked back.

LEO and 1st Responders have a window to make their case to get DJI approved. I don't know how long that window will be open, but it will be a finite amount of time.

I don't think it's that simple. The ban extends to *all* foreign manufacters of drones, regardless of whether the US might consider them as friends or foes, which includes most of those vendors currently used by US emergency services, Hollywood (both smaller ones like DJI's and the more serious models like the XM2 Sierra, which is Australian), as well as industrial users for surveying, crop spraying, and more. It also bans components, many of which are also made overseas. That Autel and DJI have also been added to the covered list is kind of irrelevant in that light, but it does give them an impossible bar to meet, as it did for Huawei. The simple fact is that they are both almost certainly done in the US now.

Look at that through the lens of the US's current ultra-protectionist policy, and it should make more sense. The US can't match what is on the market from elsewhere in many sectors, but exceptions can be granted, and you can bet they will be - under the kinds of terms used in other industries; manufacturing in the US, and so on. YMMV on how accurate the $3,000 US-made iPhone claims were, but it's pretty clear that they are/were not going to have anything like parity with the current price points, and it'll be the same for drones. I suspect the end result of that is that the US drone enthusiast is either going to have to pay a lot more for a probably inferior experience (at least in the short term), chance their legal arm with a grey import that lacks FCC certification (you will NOT want to get busted!), or are SoL.

Maybe the next administration (or the one after that, or after that) will go a little easier, making it easier for overseas manufacturers, allow re-branded DJI tech built under license, or some other workarounds, but that's at least 3 years away. I'd be making sure I've get a few key spares and maybe a backup drone or two sitting around just in case. There's a finite supply, and once the next set of models come out it's going to get run down really fast - the smarter people are going to want to get in there before that supply runs out, and it's going to tough luck if you miss the boat.

 

[anotherlab]

I don't think it's that simple

It's not simple.

The sooner people "who matter" push back, the better.

 

[Riptide]

I suspect the end result of that is that the US drone enthusiast is either going to have to pay a lot more for a probably inferior experience (at least in the short term), chance their legal arm with a grey import that lacks FCC certification (you will NOT want to get busted!), or are SoL.

I wonder how the “not FCC certified products “ route will play out. I may be incorrect, but from my understanding, many of the components that the FPV guys use for tx/rx aren’t FCC approved but that doesn’t appear to be stopping any of them. I also wonder how many of these cheap POS drones that end up on temu, eBay, or even Walmart are actually FCC certified.

 

[zocalo]

I wonder how the “not FCC certified products “ route will play out. I may be incorrect, but from my understanding, many of the components that the FPV guys use for tx/rx aren’t FCC approved but that doesn’t appear to be stopping any of them. I also wonder how many of these cheap POS drones that end up on temu, eBay, or even Walmart are actually FCC certified.

Most are going to be based on Arduinos, Raspberry Pis, and the like with suitable hardware addons, in which case the radio equipment components will almost certainly be off-the-shelf parts that do have FCC certification. If you know what you are doing (which will be obviously be a subset of the already small set of DIY builders), you could build an RX/TX pair from scratch, but if you're doing that then you probably either have the required HAM license or be operating below the power limits that require FCC certification, in which case you are all good.

If not, and you get caught with unlicensed gear, there are plenty of examples of penalties being applied, and that applies to suppliers as well as individuals although, to be fair, I can't see them actively pursuing individuals doing this with a hand-built drone. The more likely scenario will be that you get busted for doing something stupid with the drone, that it's not FCC certified comes out in the subsequent investigation (and a handbuilt is probably going to attract a LOT more serious attention than a grey market import), and will then get added to the rap sheet.