The DJI ban is here: what it actually means for your police drone program
DJI was added to the FCC Covered List on December 23, 2025 after no national-security agency completed the NDAA-mandated review. Existing fleets can generally keep flying, but new DJI equipment can no longer receive FCC authorization, and any program spending federal funds must buy NDAA-compliant aircraft.
For years, "the DJI ban" was a rumor agencies could plan around. As of December 2025, it is policy. The deadline written into the 2025 NDAA came and went, the FCC acted, and every police drone program in the country now flies under a different set of procurement rules, whether the agency has noticed yet or not.
Here is what actually changed, what didn't, and what command staff should be doing about it this budget cycle.
What actually happened in December 2025?
The 2025 National Defense Authorization Act gave U.S. national-security agencies one year to complete a formal security review of DJI. The law included an automatic trigger: if no agency completed the review by December 23, 2025, DJI would be added to the FCC's Covered List. No agency completed the review, and the trigger fired.
The FCC went further than the minimum. In a first-of-its-kind action, it moved to add foreign-produced uncrewed aircraft systems and critical UAS components broadly to the Covered List, sweeping in DJI, Autel, and others. The practical effect is forward-looking: the FCC will no longer issue equipment authorizations for covered drones, so new DJI models cannot be certified for the U.S. market. It is not retroactive: models already authorized before December 23, 2025 keep those authorizations, and retailers can keep selling existing stock until it runs out.
Can my agency keep flying the DJI aircraft it already owns?
Generally, yes, and contrary to a common misreading, you can also still buy a previously-authorized DJI model from existing inventory. The Covered List action affects authorizations for new equipment, not flight authority for aircraft already in the field, and it is not retroactive. Previously authorized DJI airframes remain legal to purchase from remaining stock and to operate, and dock-based DFR systems already deployed can continue running. (Programs that spend federal funds are the exception: that is the American Security Drone Act, below, and it is stricter.)
But "can keep flying" is not the same as "can keep the program healthy." The pressure comes through attrition:
- A shrinking pool, not a hard stop. You can still buy previously-authorized models from remaining stock, but no new DJI models will be certified, so once a model sells through, no like-for-like replacement is coming.
- Parts and accessories get murky. Replacement controllers and transmission modules may require their own authorization review. A fleet you cannot service is a fleet on a countdown.
- Support risk. Firmware, cloud services, and warranty support for covered platforms operate under growing uncertainty. Plan as if they degrade.
- Institutional risk. City counsel, insurers, and grant administrators are starting to ask why a covered platform is still in service. Have a written transition plan before they do.
The American Security Drone Act: the money decides, not the mission
The second change matters more for most local agencies. The American Security Drone Act reached full enforcement on December 22, 2025. It restricts the purchase and operation of covered drones for any program that uses federal funds.
Read that carefully. The trigger is the funding source, not the agency type. A city police department buying aircraft with a DHS grant, or a county using federal infrastructure money, is subject to the same restrictions as a federal agency. Plenty of agencies that think of themselves as purely local are federally funded somewhere in the drone program: a grant, a task-force reimbursement, an equipment share.
Before your next purchase, map every dollar flowing into the UAS program back to its origin. If any of it is federal, your buy list just got shorter.
What replaces DJI: Blue UAS, Green UAS, and the real trade-offs
Agencies replatforming are converging on the cleared lists: the Defense Innovation Unit's Blue UAS list and the broader Green UAS framework. Skydio, Parrot Anafi USA, and Teal are the names that come up most in public-safety procurements.
Go in with clear eyes. Compliant platforms have closed much of the capability gap, but the unit economics are different: expect higher airframe cost, and budget the full transition, not just the aircraft:
| Cost line | What to check before you sign |
|---|---|
| Airframes | Cleared-list status, payload parity with what your pilots fly today |
| Docks & charging | Whether existing dock infrastructure carries over (usually it doesn't) |
| Pilot retraining | Hours to proficiency on the new platform, per pilot |
| Spares & sustainment | Parts availability and turnaround from a U.S. supply chain |
| Software & video | Whether your streaming and command tools are tied to the old airframe |
Don't let the video stack double the cost of compliance
That last line is the one agencies miss. If your live-video workflow is welded to a specific manufacturer's ecosystem (its app, its cloud, its per-aircraft licensing), then a fleet swap is also a software migration, with new licenses, new training, and new integration work stacked on top of the airframe bill.
A hardware-agnostic command layer avoids that. BabbarOps ingests live video over standard protocols (RTMP, RTSP, SRT) from any aircraft that can push a stream, with no proprietary hardware and no per-device licensing. Swap the airframe and the workflow survives: the same wall, the same logins, the same way command and patrol see the feed. The compliance project stays an aircraft project instead of becoming a platform rebuild.
What command staff should do this quarter
- Inventory funding. Trace every UAS dollar to its source. Flag anything federal: those purchases must be NDAA-compliant aircraft.
- Audit the fleet. List covered airframes, their condition, and realistic remaining service life under a no-new-parts assumption.
- Write the transition plan. Even a one-page memo (current state, target platforms, timeline, cost) answers the questions counsel and council will ask.
- Decouple software from airframes. Choose streaming, command, and awareness tools that work across manufacturers, so the next regulatory shift costs you aircraft, not architecture.
- Time the buy. Cleared-list platforms are seeing heavy demand. Lead times are real; budget cycles wait for no one.
The ban did not end police drone programs. It ended a procurement habit. Agencies that treat the next two budget cycles as a managed transition, with fleet, funding, and software each examined on its own, will come out with programs that are more resilient than what they had. Agencies that wait for the fleet to age out will make the same transition later, under worse conditions.
Not a blanket ban. DJI was added to the FCC Covered List effective December 23, 2025, but the rule is forward-looking: it blocks new equipment authorizations, so new DJI models cannot be certified for U.S. sale. Previously-authorized models can still be bought from existing stock and flown. The separate American Security Drone Act is stricter for agencies: it restricts covered drones for any program using federal funds, regardless of model age.
Generally yes. The FCC action affects authorizations for new equipment, not flight authority for fielded aircraft, and deployed dock systems can continue operating. You can even buy previously-authorized models from remaining stock, but that stock will not be replenished, and if federal funds touch the program, the American Security Drone Act restricts buying or operating covered drones regardless of model age.
It applies whenever federal money is involved: the funding source, not the agency type, determines applicability. A city police department buying drones with a DHS grant or a county using federal infrastructure funds faces the same restrictions as a federal agency. Agencies should trace every UAS dollar to its origin before purchasing.
Most agencies look to the Defense Innovation Unit's Blue UAS cleared list and the broader Green UAS framework, with Skydio, Parrot Anafi USA, and Teal among the platforms most often selected in public-safety procurements. Expect higher airframe costs and budget the full transition (docks, retraining, spares, and software), not just the aircraft.
If a fleet swap is in your future, see how a hardware-agnostic live video layer keeps the workflow intact while the airframes change.
The regulatory situation around covered drones is evolving; this article is for general information and is not legal advice. Confirm the current status of FCC Covered List actions and NDAA provisions with your agency's counsel before making procurement decisions. BabbarOps is an independent commercial product and is not affiliated with or endorsed by any government agency.