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The FCC has moved to ban imports of certain foreign drones built for military use, targeting Chinese-made aircraft with swarming and infrared capabilities over national security concerns.
Getting into it: Reuters first reported that the FCC has tentatively landed on blocking imports of military-grade drones with swarming and infrared thermal imaging capabilities, while leaving non-military-grade drones, critical components, and anything bought by the federal government untouched. The agency had already shut the door on new foreign drone models last December, a move that stopped Chinese companies like DJI and Autel from getting approval to sell new drones or key components, though existing products could stay on shelves.
The FCC framed swarm technology as a direct threat to defense systems. Such drones “can overwhelm defenses, provide persistent surveillance, and create complex operational challenges that strain traditional air defense systems, which pose significant risks to public safety and national security,” the agency said. Officials cast the broader effort as a way to “secure the drone supply chain” and keep sensitive data out of foreign hands. They also said the bans are meant to build up domestic drone manufacturing.
The agency also carved out exemptions for some drones and parts not made in China, extending those until January 2028, which aims the pressure squarely at Chinese manufacturers. The order is open for public comment for 30 days and would not disturb aircraft that are already in the air or on the shelf.
The company with the most to lose is DJI, the world’s largest dronemaker, which sells more than half of all commercial drones in the US and sued the FCC in February to challenge the December order. The pressure on DJI has since spread well beyond drones. Nine other companies have lost approvals they already held.
The FCC says all nine are selling DJI hardware under a different name, including Skyrover, whose drones mirror DJI’s Mini line, and Xtra, whose cameras are Osmo units with the logo swapped. The agency has never before clawed back a certification it already granted, and by going after cameras rather than just aircraft, it has put all of DJI’s US business in play.
The legal hook is the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act, which gave DJI a year to clear a security audit or lose the ability to launch anything new stateside. The government never performed the audit. The relevant section is written broadly enough to cover not just DJI but its subsidiaries, affiliates, and any partner with a technology-sharing or licensing agreement, and that is the language the FCC is now using to sweep in the clone brands.
This all comes as the crackdown accelerates on multiple fronts, with the FCC widening an equipment ban against several Chinese manufacturers on July 16 and separately moving to revoke approval for a drone from Odyssey Robot that it cleared earlier this year.
