Popular drone set to be banned in US as FCC moves to classify it as 'military grade'

It looks like three models of drones are set to disappear from store shelves as the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) moves to place a ban on them.

The ban will be effective across the US and will classify these types of drones as ‘military grade’.

This comes after the federal agency released a statement to confirm that the FCC has the discretion to prohibit the import, marketing, or sale of categories of ‘covered’ equipment if in the public interest.

Following a public notice by the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) and the Office of Engineering and Technology (OET), the FCC has made the decision that certain military-grade foreign-made UAS and UAS critical components of select drones ‘pose unacceptable national security risks’.

As a result, the agency has concluded that there are ‘strong national security reasons’ to place a ban on these drones.

In the FCC’s public notice, it goes on to say that it proposes to ‘prohibit the continued importation and marketing of certain previously authorized equipment that has been determined to “pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons”.’

It continues: “In particular, we propose to apply such prohibitions to foreign-produced uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and UAS critical components that are both on the Covered List and are 'military grade’.”

Drone maker DJI has publicly spoken out against this move, taking to social media to share a statement.

On X, formerly Twitter, the firm wrote: “The FCC is considering new restrictions that could affect DJI drones already on the U.S. market – not just future products.

“Despite being framed around “military-grade” drones, the proposal could also capture civilian technologies such as thermal imaging, LiDAR, docking stations, and agricultural spraying systems used every day by first responders, farmers, inspectors, businesses, and hobbyists.

“If you rely on these tools like the Matrice 400 or DJI Dock 2, tell the FCC how the restrictions would affect your work, costs, or community.”

This has prompted others to share their own thoughts on the matter, with one user writing: “Nothing about that feature has anything to do with being military grade.. it’s a safety feature to prevent crashes and mishaps. This is probably the most misguided thing I’ve seen in a while.”

Another said: “I'm sure it's just a coincidence that Eric and Donald Trump Jr. own a drone company.”

And a third person added: “The bigger challenge is that the US currently lacks a domestic drone manufacturer operating at DJI’s scale and quality. Until that gap narrows, finding an alternative is going to be tough.”