Petition challenges December ruling affecting foreign-made UAS and elements
The U.S. drone business continues to regulate to a major regulatory shift following a December 2025 resolution by the Federal Communications Fee (FCC) to broaden its Lined Listing to incorporate sure foreign-produced uncrewed plane programs (UAS) and demanding elements. In response, Chinese language drone producer DJI has filed a petition for evaluation within the U.S. Court docket of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, difficult the ruling because it applies to the corporate’s merchandise.
Whereas the FCC’s motion was not written to single out anyone producer, the choice has had outsized affect on DJI because of its scale within the world and U.S. drone markets.
FCC Lined Listing Growth: What Modified
On December 22, 2025, the FCC’s Public Security and Homeland Safety Bureau launched a ruling including sure foreign-made drones and UAS vital elements to the Fee’s Lined Listing. The motion was taken pursuant to authority beneath federal safe communications and provide chain legal guidelines, together with provisions within the FY2025 Nationwide Protection Authorization Act.
Underneath FCC guidelines, gear positioned on the Lined Listing can’t obtain new gear authorization. With out FCC authorization, new merchandise can’t be marketed, bought, or imported into america.
The December motion didn’t instantly floor present fleets. Drones that had already obtained authorization and have been already in operation stay authorized to fly. Nevertheless, the ruling successfully freezes the introduction of recent foreign-produced platforms or vital {hardware} revisions that require new FCC approval.
In subsequent steering and FAQs, the FCC clarified elements of the ruling and outlined restricted exemptions in sure circumstances.
Importantly, the language of the order applies broadly to foreign-produced UAS and elements. It doesn’t identify DJI particularly. Nevertheless, because the world’s largest civilian drone producer and a dominant provider in a number of U.S. business segments, DJI is among the many corporations instantly affected.
The coverage marks a shift from company-specific scrutiny towards broader provide chain and country-of-origin issues. The market affect has been vital, notably for industrial operators, public security businesses, and integrators assessing long-term procurement methods.
DJI’s Petition for Assessment
On February 20, 2026, DJI and DJI Service LLC filed a petition for evaluation within the Ninth Circuit in search of to overturn the FCC’s ruling.
The submitting asks the court docket to evaluation the FCC’s motion including DJI’s communications and video surveillance gear to the Lined Listing, stating that the ruling “purports so as to add ‘all communications and video surveillance gear’ produced by DJI” to the Lined Listing, which might forestall new DJI merchandise inside scope from being marketed, bought, or imported into america
DJI additional asserts that the FCC has used the ruling to justify proscribing the importation of sure present merchandise and merchandise exterior the scope of the order. The corporate argues that the FCC exceeded its statutory authority, failed to watch required procedures, and violated the Fifth Modification when it added DJI’s merchandise to the Lined Listing.
The petition requests that the court docket “maintain illegal, vacate, enjoin, and put aside the Ruling.”
DJI’s Assertion
In a press release attributed to a DJI spokesperson, the corporate stated: “DJI, the world’s chief in civilian drones and inventive digicam know-how, is difficult the Federal Communications Fee’s resolution to ban DJI from advertising and marketing, promoting, and importing new merchandise into america. To guard its enterprise and American customers who depend on its merchandise, DJI has filed a petition for evaluation within the Ninth Circuit, contesting the FCC’s addition of DJI’s communications and video surveillance gear to the Fee’s ‘Lined Listing.’”
The assertion continues: “As outlined within the petition, the choice to listing DJI’s merchandise is procedurally and substantively flawed. The FCC can add merchandise to the Lined Listing solely after they current a nationwide safety menace, but it has by no means recognized any menace related to DJI or its merchandise. Regardless of repeated efforts to interact with the federal government, DJI has by no means been given the prospect to offer info to deal with or refute any issues. These procedural and substantive deficiencies violate the Structure and federal regulation.”
DJI additionally emphasised buyer affect: “The itemizing additionally causes nice hurt to DJI and its prospects. It carelessly restricts DJI’s enterprise within the U.S. and summarily denies U.S. prospects entry to its newest know-how, whereas customers elsewhere proceed to learn. People throughout industries—together with small enterprise homeowners, public security officers, farmers, and creators—have been and can proceed to be affected, shedding entry to the instruments they depend on to make a dwelling and save lives.”
The corporate added: “DJI takes the safety of its merchandise very significantly. The corporate has lengthy advocated for impartial, goal evaluation of its merchandise. As a part of our dedication to the U.S. market and our prospects throughout quite a few industries, we’ll proceed to interact constructively with the FCC and different stakeholders.”
Market and Business Implications
Though the FCC’s order applies broadly to foreign-produced UAS and elements, DJI’s scale signifies that the sensible market results have been substantial. The corporate has traditionally provided a big share of economic, public security, agricultural, and inventive drone platforms in america.
The coverage shift has accelerated conversations about home manufacturing, provide chain transparency, and procurement diversification. Operators and businesses should now consider long-term fleet planning in gentle of authorization constraints on future foreign-produced programs.
The Ninth Circuit’s evaluation will hopefully make clear how far the FCC’s Lined Listing authority extends in the uscontext. For producers, resellers, integrators and operators, the case could form the regulatory framework governing entry to one of many world’s largest drone markets.
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Miriam McNabb is the Editor-in-Chief of DRONELIFE and CEO of JobForDrones, an expert drone providers market, and a fascinated observer of the rising drone business and the regulatory setting for drones. Miriam has penned over 3,000 articles targeted on the industrial drone house and is a world speaker and acknowledged determine within the business. Miriam has a level from the College of Chicago and over 20 years of expertise in excessive tech gross sales and advertising and marketing for brand new applied sciences.
For drone business consulting or writing, E mail Miriam.
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