FCC ban exempts some foreign drones now — with another caveat

Just two weeks after the FCC shocked the drone industry by banning all future, foreign-made drones and components, the government has issued a significant update creating exemptions for specific categories of equipment. But there’s a catch: the exemptions expire on January 1, 2027, giving manufacturers barely one year to prove their compliance.

On Jan. 7, 2026, the FCC updated its Covered List to exempt two categories of drones and drone components from the sweeping December 22 ban:

Drones and components on the Department of Defense’s Blue UAS Cleared List
Drones and components that meet the “Buy American” standard (meaning it’s at least 65% U.S.-made by cost).

Both exemptions are temporary, expiring Jan. 1, 2027, unless superseded by a new determination.

What this actually means

When the FCC first banned “all UAS and UAS critical components produced in a foreign country,” it created chaos. The rule technically prohibited future foreign-made motors, batteries, cameras, flight controllers, communication systems, and navigation systems from receiving FCC equipment authorizations, which are the approvals required to legally sell electronics in the United States.

That means future models of existing DJI drones, like a DJI Neo 3 or a DJI Mini 6 Pro (both of which do not exist, as we’re currently on the DJI Neo 2 and the DJI Mini 5 Pro) would not be approved for legal sale in the U.S. But since the DJI Neo 2 and DJI 5 Mini Pro do already exist for sale, those are not banned.

The December ban also included some extra fine print, saying that the Department of Defense (now called “Department of War” in official documents) or Department of Homeland Security could issue specific determinations that certain drones or components don’t pose security risks. This update represents the first major use of that exception.

The updated Covered List now reads: “Uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and UAS critical components produced in a foreign country — except, until January 1, 2027, (a) UAS and UAS critical components included on the Defense Contract Management Agency’s (DCMA’s) Blue UAS Cleared List, and (b) UAS critical components that qualify as ‘domestic end products’ under the Buy American Standard, 48 CFR 25.101(a).”

In short, that means if your drone is on the Blue UAS list or meets Buy American standards, you can get FCC authorization for future models. If it’s not, then future models are still banned. Yet even this FCC exemption has its own caveat: it’s only valid until Jan. 1, 2027.

Here’s a breakdown of the lates news around what the FCC ban exempts:

The Blue UAS Cleared List

Photo of the IF800 Tomcat drone courtesy of Inspired Flight Technologies.

The Blue UAS program has been around for years. It was created by the Department of Defense to identify drones and components that meet strict cybersecurity and supply chain standards. These products have undergone “rigorous cyber and hardware assessments” and “extensive penetration testing” to ensure they don’t contain hardware, software, or supply chain vulnerabilities.

According to the Department of War’s determination: “UAS and UAS components included on the Blue UAS list have met the highest security standards so they are able to operate in sensitive environments, protect sensitive information, and prevent cyber vulnerabilities.”

You can view the current list here, but popular drone systems that are on the Blue UAS Cleared list include:

That means those drones (and others on the Blue UAS Cleared list) are exempt from the FCC ban. Then again, notably absent are DJI, Autel, and other Chinese manufacturers like Potensic that dominate consumer and commercial markets.

The Blue UAS exemption applies until January 1, 2027, at which point the government will “reassess to determine if the import of Blue listed UAS and UAS critical components produced in a foreign country threatens the resiliency of our domestic drone industrial base.”

The Buy American Standard

Skyways drones are made at the companies headquarters in Austin, Texas. (Photo by Sally French)

This is where things get interesting for manufacturers trying to comply without getting on the Blue UAS list. Under the Buy American standard (48 CFR 25.101(a)), a drone or component qualifies as a “domestic end product” if:

It’s manufactured in the United States, AND
The cost of domestic components exceeds 65% of the total cost of the finished product (that 65% threshold increases to 70% by 2029).

This means a drone could theoretically include 35% foreign-sourced components (by cost) and still qualify for the exemption, as long as it’s assembled in the U.S. and the majority of value comes from American parts. That is key, as very few products (in any industry, really) are wholly 100% made in America. Even with an American drone, you might find that the screws came from Mexico, or the mounting brackets came from China. This allows those small parts to still be foreign-made.

But even with this, the government is explicit that this is a temporary baseline.

“Industry should plan for the domestic content requirement for UAS and UAS critical components to continue to increase in the following years,” according to a fact sheet provided by the U.S. government. “Industry should use the Buy American standards as a baseline with plans to increase their domestic content requirement.”

Special cases

The FCC also announced a process for manufacturers to request individual “Conditional Approvals” for specific products that aren’t on the Blue UAS list or don’t meet Buy American standards.

Companies can email drones@fcc.gov with information about their product. The FCC will forward the request to the Department of War and Department of Homeland Security for evaluation.

As for what criteria they’ll use to grant exemptions? That’s unclear. How long the process takes? Also unclear. Whether any will actually be granted? Time will tell.

This feels like a safety valve that might let certain products squeeze through if they can demonstrate they don’t pose security risks, but it’s not a path most manufacturers will want to rely on. It feels unlikely that anything made by DJI would get approved this way, but I hope I’m wrong.

Other drones that are or aren’t banned

The new Antigravity A1 drone. It’s still legal to buy and fly! Photo by Sally French/The Drone Girl

Before drone pilots start celebrating, here’s what remains banned:

Complete foreign-manufactured future drones: Unless your drone is on the Blue UAS list or meets the 65% domestic content threshold, it’s still banned from receiving new FCC equipment authorizations. That means new DJI models, new Autel models, and new products from most Chinese manufacturers cannot enter the U.S. market.

But it’s critical to know that certain Chinese drones are NOT banned:

Existing drones remain legal: Remember, the ban only prevents NEW equipment authorizations. Consumers can continue to use any device that has received an equipment authorization. If you own a DJI Mavic, Air, or Mini right now, you can keep flying it legally.

Previously approved models can still be sold: The exemption is “forward-looking.” If a DJI Mini 4K was already FCC-authorized on December 21, manufacturers can continue selling that exact model. What they can’t do is introduce the Mini 5K or any other new variant.

The January 1, 2027 deadline

Both exemptions explicitly terminate at the end of 2026. After that, unless the Department of War extends the deadline or issues new exemptions, only fully compliant drones will be allowed.

Despite granting these temporary exemptions, the document repeatedly emphasizes that foreign components create “significant vulnerabilities for the domestic drone industrial base.”

The DoW determination states: “While the DoW has determined that UAS and UAS components included on the Blue UAS list do not currently pose immediate national security risks to the American homeland, reliance on any foreign country for critical UAS components still creates significant vulnerabilities for the domestic drone industrial base.”

On the Buy American exemption, they’re even more direct: “While the Buy American standards support American manufacturing, it is critical that we have a fully independent and robust domestic drone supply chain… Industry should use the Buy American standards as a baseline with plans to increase their domestic content requirement.”

In other words: We’re letting you use 65% American content for now, but expect that bar to rise. The determination concludes: “In line with President Trump’s revitalization of American manufacturing through America First policies, UAS and UAS critical components must be built in America.”

Questions we still need answers to

Since I first wrote about the ban in December, I’ve gotten many, many questions from readers. With this new information, there are more. Here are some common questions (and non-answers):

How do you prove compliance? The FCC says applicants “will need to demonstrate that UAS or UAS critical components were not produced in a foreign country” but “there is no specific documentation or evidence required.” So do manufacturers self-certify? Do they need supply chain audits? What stops someone from lying?

What counts as “produced in a foreign country”? The FAQs clarify that “the specific nationality of the entity or entities producing UAS or UAS critical components is not relevant.” So a Chinese company manufacturing in the U.S. is fine? An American company manufacturing in China is banned? The guidance is vague.

What happens when components have components? A flight controller made in California might use chips from Taiwan, connectors from Japan, and PCB fabrication from China. At what level do you calculate the 65% threshold?

What about batteries and motors? FAQs provided by the U.S. government acknowledge that batteries and motors “traditionally do not even require FCC equipment authorization” and confirm they still don’t. But then it adds: “According to the recent guidance, all entities seeking a waiver for a UAS will be required to establish an onshoring plan for the manufacturing of all UAS critical components, including components that do not require FCC authorization.” So batteries don’t need FCC authorization, but you need a plan to manufacture them domestically? How does that work?

What we can expect now

Blue UAS manufacturers like Skydio, Teal and Parrot have a year of protected market access. These companies will need to use this time wisely to scale production, improve products and prepare.

American manufacturers that use some foreign components but can hit that 65% U.S. content threshold have breathing room until January 2027. They’ll need to use this year to work on increasing that percentage because the government has made clear it will rise.

Foreign manufacturers can keep selling existing models, but they can’t introduce new products unless they make major manufacturing changes (including building U.S. facilities with 65% domestic content.

American drone pilots can continue using their existing equipment, and they can continue buying models that are on the market today, whether new or used.

Component manufacturers like chip makers and companies that build motors, batteries and flight controllers are about to see significant demand increases.

FCC Chairman Brendan Carr issued an enthusiastic statement, saying “President Trump is unleashing American drone dominance. And I welcome the Department of War’s important work to restore American airspace sovereignty. I welcome the DoW’s determination on drones that do not pose unacceptable risks, and I am pleased to have the FCC update the Covered List accordingly.”

That’s a lot of welcoming for a policy that just told most of the drone industry they have 356 days to completely restructure their supply chains or exit the U.S. market.

Now on the bright side, the FCC’s exemptions are better than nothing. But this feels more like delaying the problem than solving it. What happens in 356 days? Do the exemptions get extended? Do they expire and crash the market? Does domestic manufacturing capacity miraculously scale up enough to fill the void?

The Blue UAS program makes sense—security-vetted drones for government and enterprise use. But the consumer and small commercial market needs affordable options, and that market has been built on globalized supply chains.

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