[Phillip Beall]

All,

Reading news over coffee this morning I spotted a headline that might affect all of us going forward.  This Wall Street Journal article U.S. Bans New China-Made Drones, Sparking Outrage Among Pilots (free link) was informative, but unclear on one point – When does the ban take effect?  It is in the article, I just didn’t really understand it.  The ban is immediate, but it is only for future drones.  Current drones are not prohibited and in fact a quick look at Amazon shows plentiful DJI drones.  Prices also do not appear to have gone up.

From Grock: When does the US ban on Chinese drones take effect?

The US ban on new Chinese-made drones, primarily affecting manufacturers like DJI and Autel Robotics, took effect on December 22–23, 2025.

This stems from a Federal Communications Commission (FCC) ruling announced on December 22, 2025 (with reports dated into December 23). The FCC added foreign-made drones and critical components to its “Covered List” of equipment posing national security risks, preventing new models from receiving FCC authorization for import, sale, or use of radio frequencies in the US.

The decision followed a national security review mandated by Section 1709 of the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), signed in late 2024. The NDAA required a review by December 23, 2025; since no clearance was granted, restrictions on new foreign drones were triggered.

Key points:

• Existing drones (previously authorized models, including those already owned or in stock) remain legal to fly, sell, and use—no grounding of current fleets.

• The ban targets new models and components, blocking future imports and sales from Chinese (and broadly foreign) manufacturers.

• This primarily impacts DJI, which holds the majority of the US market, but extends to other foreign drones.

Separate restrictions apply to federal government use under the American Security Drone Act (part of prior NDAAs), prohibiting procurement immediately and operation of certain foreign drones starting around December 22, 2025, for agencies.

Sources include reports from POLITICO, Reuters, CNN, The New York Times, and industry analyses confirming the FCC action and timeline.

https://grok.com/share/c2hhcmQtMg_701256ac-25d8-436e-90c4-714adca1212c

If you have been considering buying a drone or replacement parts (rotor blades, batteries, etc.), you might want to buy sooner rather than later.  After the holidays, when people start paying more attention to the news, I kind of expect a run on them.  With basically no US option for the consumer market I am not sure what the long-term options might be, but I did want all of you to know about this development.

73

Phillip Beall (W5EBC)

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