FCC Blocks New DJI Drone Sales

American buyers in the market for the latest DJI or Autel drones are about to hit a federal wall. The Federal Communications Commission has barred the sale of new models of foreign drones, including those from the top Chinese companies, the Washington Post reports. The FCC said it would block the drones from receiving US authorization, citing what it called unacceptable national security risks. The ban also covers foreign-made drone components.

The move places DJI and other foreign drone makers on the FCC's "Covered List," a roster of equipment deemed too risky for US networks or infrastructure. In practice, it means no new DJI models can be legally marketed in the United States, although previously approved drones and those already in use by hobbyists, real estate firms, and public safety agencies are unaffected. DJI, founded in 2006, dominates the US hobbyist market and and studies have found it accounts for the vast majority of drones used by police and fire departments.

The action builds on directives from the Trump administration to shore up the US defense industrial base and favor domestically built, dual-use technologies such as drones. "Following President Trump's leadership, the FCC will work closely with US drone makers to unleash American drone dominance," FCC Chairman Brendan Carr said. The Pentagon has banned DJI purchases since 2017, and several states have imposed their own limits on government use of Chinese-made drones. DJI said it was "disappointed" and noted that officials have not publicly disclosed the evidence behind the decision, the Post reports..

Many American commercial drone pilots, anticipating the ban, have been hoarding DJI parts and sending letters to lawmakers urging them to reconsider, the Wall Street Journal reports. Some say that since there's no American replacement for the drones, their ban could cost them their livelihoods. "I am American-made through and through. I drive a Chevy pickup truck," says Eric Ebert at Falcon Unmanned Systems, which uses drones to monitor construction sites. "But American drones can't compete."