DJI has been battling against the U.S. Government’s attempts to ban the company’s products for nearly three years. Now the dispute is set to come to a conclusion by the end of the year.
Why is DJI about to be banned?
In December 2024, the U.S. Congress passed the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA). The NDAA included a requirement for an “appropriate national security agency” to conduct a risk assessment on Chinese drones.
It also stated that if the risk assessment was not conducted within a year, DJI would automatically be added to the Federal Communications Commission’s (FCC) Covered List. The Covered List identifies companies deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States. As a result, these companies are banned from supplying their products.
Risk assessment
Unfortunately for DJI, the NDAA did not designate a specific agency to undertake the risk assessment. As a result, and unsurprisingly, it seems that there hasn’t been the required risk assessment, despite DJI actively campaigning for it to happen. Therefore, when the 12 months is up at the end on December 23, 2025, DJI will be added to the Covered List. The company will then no longer be able to supply any products in the U.S.
What has DJI done?
The Head of Global Policy at DJI, Adam Walsh, wrote to the U.S. Government at the start of December. His letter was sent to the Director of the FBI, Kash Patel; Acting Director of the National Security Agency, Lt. Gen. William Hartman; Pete Hegseth, Secretary of the Department of War; and Tulsi Gabbard, Director of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence. In the letter, Walsh urged the recipients to conduct the audit immediately. He also stated that DJI was “confident that DJI products will withstand your scrutiny.”
In addition, Walsh referenced evidence of “validations” that had been carried out by independent firms and other U.S. Government agencies in the past.
Walsh also posted a video on the @djigloabl Instagram account. In the video he claimed that the impending ban wasn’t because DJI had done anything wrong. Instead, he argued that it was “about much broader geopolitical tensions around technology and trade, and DJI has been caught in the middle of that.” Walsh also confirmed that, throughout 2025, DJI has asked for the audit required by the NDAA to be carried out.
The Instagram video included a call to action. Walsh asked DJI users in the U.S. to visit the Drone Advocacy Alliance website to send a message to the U.S. Government in support of DJI.
What we think
The next few weeks will be decisive for DJI. Despite the company’s campaigning, it seems unrealistic to believe that a risk assessment can be carried out in two weeks, especially in the run up to Christmas. Perhaps DJI is hoping for a postponement of the ban, so that an audit can be carried out in the New Year. However, the U.S. Government has done nothing to instigate the risk assessment over the past 12 months. Additionally, the decision not to appoint an agency to carry out the review suggests that the U.S. Government always intended the ban to come into force automatically.
DJI will still be able to supply drones to the rest of the world, but the company is estimated to have a U.S. market share as high as 85%. Losing that market will have severe financial implications for the company. Any ban could also impact on support for existing DJI products in the U.S. This is a very concerning time for DJI and for anyone who uses the company’s products in the U.S.
