2025 drone year in review: Complicated politics, but some regulatory breakthroughs

What a year it’s been in the drone industry. From groundbreaking regulations to personal milestones, 2025 brought transformations that will shape the future of aviation for years to come. Here’s my look back at the stories that defined the year with my 2025 drone year in review:

The proposed BVLOS rule finally arrived

Let’s start with arguable the biggest drone news story of 2025. After years of anticipation, August 2025 delivered what the industry had been waiting for: a proposal of the FAA’s long-awaited BVLOS rule. As drone industry followers know, this is the key to unlocking commercial drone operations at scale.

Beyond Visual Line of Sight operations have been the holy grail of commercial drone use for years. The ability to fly drones beyond where the pilot can see them opens up applications that simply aren’t possible under current restrictions: infrastructure inspections across vast distances, agricultural monitoring of large farms, package delivery networks, and emergency response operations that can cover wider areas. The rule represents a fundamental shift in how regulators view drone technology, from a novelty requiring tight restrictions to a legitimate tool for commerce and public safety.

In 2026, expect to see a final rule.

Trump’s executive orders set a stage

One key piece for the BVLOS rule came in part earlier in the year when President Trump signed two significant executive orders in June. The first, “Unleashing American Drone Dominance,” focused on enabling Beyond Visual Line of Sight operations for commercial and public safety use. In short, the purpose of this executive order was to say: “America needs to compete globally in the drone economy, and outdated regulations were holding us back.”

The security focus intensified

The second executive order Trump signed in June, “Ensuring American Sovereignty Over Its Skies,” took a different approach. This one was all about drone security, addressing concerns about foreign-made drones potentially compromising American security and privacy.

The order directed federal agencies to assess security risks posed by drones manufactured in countries considered adversaries, establish standards for government procurement, and develop frameworks for protecting critical infrastructure from drone threats. It was a clear signal that — alongside enabling the drone economy — the government was focusing on the security implications of having foreign-manufactured aircraft filling American skies.

The security-focused executive order foreshadowed what would become one of the year’s most controversial moments, setting up the regulatory tension that would define the final days of 2025.

The FCC dropped a bombshell

Then, just days before Christmas, the FCC dropped a bombshell: a ban on foreign-made drones. The timing couldn’t have been more dramatic — right before the holidays, when many people were considering drone purchases as gifts, and just as the industry was celebrating the progress made with BVLOS regulations.

The ban represents a seismic shift in the American drone market. With DJI commanding the vast majority of the consumer and prosumer drone market, the implications are enormous. What happens to existing drones? How quickly can American manufacturers scale up to meet demand? Will third-party retailers find workarounds? As I write this, we’re still sorting through the answers.

The regulatory whiplash — from “let’s unleash drones” in June to “but not those drones” in December — captures the complexity of the policy moment we’re in. Drones are simultaneously seen as essential economic tools and potential security threats, and reconciling those two perspectives is proving messy.

DJI kept innovating (but access got complicated)

DJI didn’t slow down in 2025. The Chinese drone manufacturing giant launched several impressive products, including the DJI Flip in January, the Mavic 4 Pro in May, and the DJI Neo 2 in November. Each brought meaningful improvements to their respective categories.

But there’s a catch: DJI stopped shipping many of its newer products directly to U.S. customers. If you want to get your hands on the latest models, you’ll need to go through third-party retailers like Amazon, B&H Photo, or Drone Nerds. It’s an extra step that reflects the increasingly complex relationship between Chinese manufacturers and the American market.

DJI also continued diversifying beyond drones, expanding into handheld cameras, microphones (the DJI Mic has become essential gear for content creators), and even car chargers. The rise of the influencer economy has created entirely new markets for the company — which is beneficial for DJI if drones sales drop off due to a U.S. ban on future products.

Drone delivery continued to gain momentum

While drone delivery might still be moving slower than some expected, it is growing. For example, Wing launched operations in Atlanta in December, partnering with Walmart to bring packages to customers’ doorsteps.

It may be slow growth, but it’s steady growth.

Related read: How to become a drone delivery pilot: Inside Wing’s flight training academy

Competition arrived with the Antigravity A1

After much anticipation, the Antigravity A1 finally launched in December. This drone brought a fundamentally different way to flying, capturing everything and letting users reframe shots later. And there’s no real controller involved either. The idea with this is you use a motion controller for the drone to follow.

Ukraine changed modern warfare

The conflict in Ukraine continued to demonstrate how small drones are fundamentally changing military strategy. With this, we saw a rewriting of the playbook for modern warfare, with small drones influencing defense strategies worldwide.

The drone community came together for a mega fan fest

In March, we saw something new: the first Palm Springs Drone Fest, bringing together drone enthusiasts, professionals and industry leaders. It’s the kind of event we need more of — a chance to connect in person and celebrate this technology we all love.

Drone shows became mainstream entertainment

Drone light shows evolved from novelty to necessity in 2025. Theme parks embraced them as the new fireworks alternative, and the technology became so accessible that schools started teaching drone show courses.

The moment that had Disney fans (myself very much included) losing their minds was when Disney tested a secret drone show in Southern California. And we continue to see bigger and better drone shows.

A show with 1,000 is no longer completely extraordinary based on today’s standards (and they’ve become more accessible due to offerings like the FAB rental system from UVify), and companies like  Sky Elements (which was a finalist on America’s Got Talent in late 2024) continued to push the limits with bigger shows.

We lost two heroes

This year brought heartbreaking losses to our community. We said goodbye to Romeo Durscher, whose contributions to the drone industry were immeasurable, including careers at both DJI and Auterion. His legacy lives on in the standards and practices he helped establish.

And on September 30, I lost my mom, Cheryl La Manna. She was my biggest supporter, my cheerleader, and the reason The Drone Girl exists in the form it does today. This website wouldn’t be what it is without her unwavering belief in me. I miss her every day.

A personal highlight: I got married!

But 2025 also brought incredible joy. On September 20, I married Hamilton Nguyen (whom you may have seen throughout The Drone Girl as my photographer, business manager and website tech guy!) in a celebration that featured — what else? — a 200-drone light show put on by Electric Sky Drone Shows with support from UVify.

And yes, The New York Times covered it.

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