DJI
DJI
DJI-specific news, products, and regulatory issues.
About DJI
DJI cannot get new products approved for sale in the US. On 22 December 2025 the FCC put DJI and Autel equipment on its Covered List, which bars new approvals. Models authorised before then can still be sold and flown, and DJI's request to reverse the decision had not been decided by mid-October.
The squeeze has tightened since. From 13 October the FCC refuses authorisation to any new device containing a logic-bearing part made by DJI or Autel. Since 3 September imported drones pay a 25% tariff, or 100% above 25 kg or with a thermal imager. Twelve US states restrict public agencies from buying Chinese-made drones, by FlightBrief's count.
DJI put its 2026 losses at roughly $1.56 billion in an April court brief and said 25 planned US product launches were blocked. Those are DJI's figures, and no court has tested them.
Outside the US, DJI sells as before. Its Matrice 5TD joined the EU's list of class-marked drones on 19 October. In China, Hainan's police scrapped a drone tender on 20 October because the core product of every bid was DJI.
Every US state that restricts public agencies buying Chinese-made drones
Coverage
China's Police Are Buying Counter-Drone Lasers and FPVs
Police placed 31 of 132 drone purchases on China's national procurement site in one week. One expressway tender failed because every bid was DJI.
DJI's Dock 4 Drone Gets EU Marks for Beyond-Sight Flights
Europe's C6 mark lets operators fly the Matrice 5TD out of sight on a declaration. New DJI models still cannot get US approval.
Taiwan Fire Agency Tenders NT$361.5M for Search Drones
A three-year framework other agencies can order from, flagged as a national-security buy. Taiwan's fire services shelved their DJI drones after 2020.
FCC Adds Sealed Pentagon Letters to DJI's Covered List Case
The FCC says it did not rely on the letters when it listed DJI and Autel. The senator behind the law wrote the next day to back the listing.
EASA Proposes Drone Registration and Remote ID From 100 g
Model-flying clubs objected. EASA kept the line anyway, saying security officials set it rather than its own safety assessment.
FCC Moves to Bar Anzu Raptor Drones Over DJI Licence
Comments close on 23 September on a proposal that would stop import and sale of a drone the maker already withdrew in February.
Twelve States Restrict Chinese Drones for Public Agencies
Twelve states, not the six usually counted, restrict public agencies buying Chinese-made drones; Connecticut's municipal ban starts 1 October.
FCC Bars New Drones With DJI Parts From 13 October
From 13 October the FCC will refuse authorisation to any new device containing a DJI or Autel logic-bearing component, wherever the rest of it is built.
FAA Clears 15 DJI Drones the FCC Proposes to Ban
Fifteen DJI aircraft sit on the FAA's Section 44807 approved list. Every one meets the FCC's proposed definition of a military-grade drone.
FCC Drone Ban Comment Record: 3,770 Opposed, 16 For
The FCC drone ban proposal drew 3,829 comments before the record closed on 2 September. Sixteen of them supported it.
US Drone Tariffs of Up to 100% Take Effect September 3
A Section 232 proclamation puts 100% duties on drones over 25kg and on thermal imagers, and 25% on everything lighter, starting September 3.
Skyrover S1 vs DJI Mini 4 Pro: Specs, Prices and FCC Status
The S1 costs less and claims longer flights. The FCC has proposed stopping its sale, and DJI's US store lists the Mini 4 Pro out of stock.
DJI Lito X1: Sub-250g Drone Launches Without the US
DJI's Lito X1 weighs under 249g with a three-axis gimbal. It launched in April outside the US, where DJI says its authorization is pending.
No One Is Replacing DJI in the US Consumer Market
Ten months after the FCC shut out new foreign-made drones, no American consumer drone has filled DJI's place. US makers are selling to the military.
Beijing Bans Owning, Flying or Storing Drones From 15 November
Residents must move their drones out of the city or sell them back; buyback subsidies halve on 1 November. The May rules had banned only sales.
Companies
DJI
Chinese private manufacturer of consumer, enterprise and agricultural drones, cameras and imaging systems.
China
Autel Robotics
Chinese drone manufacturer producing consumer and commercial UAVs, including the EVO and Dragonfish series, with a growing defense-adjacent presence.
China
Skydio
US drone manufacturer building AI-powered autonomous aircraft, supplying NDAA-compliant enterprise and defense drones to agencies and operators.
United States
Unusual Machines
US drone manufacturer and components distributor building NDAA-compliant drones and parts to cut American dependence on Chinese supply chains.
United States
Anzu Robotics
US drone company that built the Raptor series under licence from DJI, now owned by XTI Aerospace and developing a replacement after ending production.
United States
Drone Nerds
US drone distributor and enterprise solutions provider, bought by XTI Aerospace in November 2025 and now the source of almost all its revenue.
United States
Red Cat Holdings
US defense drone company supplying NDAA-compliant small unmanned systems for military reconnaissance through its Teal Drones subsidiary.
United States
XTI Aerospace
US unmanned-systems and drone-services company whose commercial drone business operates through Drone Nerds.
United States
Products
DJI Avata 360
DJI
The first FPV drone with a native 360° camera and the first with omnidirectional obstacle sensing. At 455 g it lives outside every sub-250 g exemption, and 23 minutes is what you get.
DJI Neo 2
DJI
A 151 g self-flying camera with the omnidirectional sensing and forward LiDAR its predecessor lacked, at a price that makes it the cheapest DJI worth buying. Nineteen minutes and a 1/2-inch sensor are the limits.
DJI Mini 5 Pro
DJI
The first sub-250 g drone with a 1-inch sensor, and the best consumer drone you can buy in 2026 if you live somewhere DJI will sell it to you.
DJI Matrice 400
DJI
DJI's heavy-lift flagship: 59 minutes with a thermal camera fitted, a 6 kg payload, 40 km of link and a LiDAR-and-radar sensing set no rival matches at the price. Barred from federal buyers, and since September its import carries 25 percent duty, with 100 percent on the thermal payload.
DJI Mavic 4 Pro
DJI
The best camera ever put on a folding drone: a 100 MP Four Thirds Hasselblad with two telephotos behind it, 51 minutes in the air, and a gimbal that rotates through vertical. Not sold by DJI in the United States.
DJI Matrice 4E
DJI
The mapping half of DJI's Matrice 4 series: a mechanical-shutter 20 MP Four Thirds camera, two 48 MP telephotos, a laser rangefinder and 49 minutes in a folding airframe. No thermal camera, which keeps it in the lower tariff band, and still barred to federally funded buyers.
Funding
Contracts
Powerus
Unusual Machines
Purchase order from Powerus Corporation for US-made drone components (motors, batteries, cameras and…
Japan Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency
Red Cat Holdings
173 Black Widow sUAS systems, each with two aircraft and a ground control station, for the Japan…
Powerus
Unusual Machines
Supply contract from Autonomous Power Corporation (Powerus) for US-manufactured components for…
U.S. Air Force
Skydio
Order exceeding $9M from U.S. Air Forces Central for Skydio Dock and X10 systems for air base…
U.S. Army
Skydio
Order of more than $52 million for over 2,500 X10D drones, described as the largest single-vendor…