It’s a new year, and that means being up to date on drone regulations and requirements.
As such, the Federal Communications Commission has officially updated its covered list of drone operators, with immediate fallout to DJI Technologies and Autel Robotics, as well as subsidiaries, affiliates, and partners of the entities and any communications or video surveillance services (including software) provided by them.
The move to add DJI and Autel to the FCC covered list comes after a government security audit to determine the security status of DJI and Autel was not carried out by Dec. 23, 2025, as required by Section 1709 of the FY 2025 National Defense Authorization Act.
The addition of DJI and Autel to the FCC covered list affects government use of said items as well as import of future company products, but not the use by civilian drone pilots of models approved before addition to the covered list. Future drone models and hardware from DJI and Autel are dependent on individual approval from relevant U.S. government agencies, all drones (not just DJI or Autel) requiring a built-in remote ID or remote ID broadcast module since fall 2023.
DJI and Autel both control or service a disproportionate share of the US drone market, with DJI previously calling for said audit to be carried out earlier in 2025 as news of the potential listing began to affect its business activities. DJI responded to news of its addition to the FCC covered list by stating it had not been given information on what had driven the U.S. government to add it to the covered list.
“While DJI was not singled out, no information has been released regarding what information was used by the Executive Branch in reaching its determination,” the company said in a statement following list addition.
Previous companies added to the list under Section 2 of the Secure Networks Act include many Chinese companies as well as a Russian one (Kaspersky Lab Inc.), a Chinese foreign ministry spokesperson stating that the government of China opposed the “US overstretching concept of national security” and its making of “discriminatory lists” that went after Chinese companies.
A full list of companies on the covered list is available on the FCC website at https://www.fcc.gov/supplychain/coveredlist for those seeking further clarity on the matter.