- The Senate Armed Services Committee’s version of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2025 (NDAA FY25) excludes the Countering CCP Drones Act, which aimed to ban DJI drones in the US, despite the House including it in their version.
- The Senate’s decision likely reflects opposition from first responders and drone pilots, who argued the ban could disrupt public safety operations and harm small drone businesses, potentially closing 67% of them.
- The NDAA remains critical for the drone industry, funding defense and dual-use drone development, though the Senate version omits the controversial ban on DJI drones.
The Senate Armed Services Committee has recently unveiled its version of the National Defense Authorization Act for 2025 (NDAA FY25), and it omits the Countering CCP Drones Act, which proposed a nationwide ban on DJI drones.
Last month, the House version of the NDAA FY25 did include the Countering CCP Drones Act, sparking speculation about the potential enactment of the ban and its implications. If DJI is included on this list, the FCC would be prohibited from granting new equipment authorizations for DJI products or software in the US.
The Senate’s exclusion of the law might be a response to backlash from first responders. Shortly after the House passed its version of the NDAA FY25, representatives from over 6,000 public safety agencies, predominantly police and fire departments with drone programs, wrote to the Senate Armed Services Committee to voice their opposition to the Countering CCP Drones Act. The decision may also reflect input from everyday drone pilots, who have reportedly flooded their representatives with concerns. Some pilots have highlighted that the ban could lead to the closure of 67% of small U.S. drone businesses, based on data from DJI. (The source of that data is admittedly biased, but still seems in the ballpark given that there just aren’t many other sub-$5k drone platforms out there for drone solopreneurs to use.)
For lawmakers advocating for the ban, the NDAA likely appeared as a promising way to achieve it. Last year, a ban on Chinese drones for federal agencies was enacted as part of the 2024 NDAA. This ban was a key component of the American Security Drone Act (ASDA), a law first drafted in 2020.
It’s important to note that the ASDA not only restricted the types of drones federal agencies can purchase but also limited the drones allowed on federal land. Consequently, drone pilots contracted for aerial work on sites including federal land are prohibited from using DJI drones, leading to legal challenges for pilots and photographers seeking to incorporate drones into their work.
The Countering CCP Drones Act would have posed even greater challenges for drone service providers, potentially making it very difficult, if not impossible, to afford the necessary technology for their operations.
While the Senate’s NDAA FY25 does not address DJI, it does include several significant provisions related to drones.
The NDAA is crucial for the drone industry as it generally provides funding for both defense and dual-use (military and civilian) drone development.
The Senate’s NDAA includes:
- A report on military drone funding
- Increased funding for drone manufacturing
- Development of the drone supply chain
- Partnerships between civil authorities and the Department of Defense to implement Counter-UAS (CUAS) measures
The omission of the DJI ban from the current Senate version of the NDAA doesn’t rule out the possibility of its inclusion later on. There is still a chance the Countering CCP Drones Act could be added before the NDAA is finalized. Additionally, regardless of the NDAA’s outcome, it seems that its supporters in Congress, who have also proposed a DJI ban under the Drones for First Responder Act, will continue to push for some form of restriction.
It’s important to note that DJI has long been the leading market choice for drone operators in the US. The company has consistently refuted claims of data security risks and has highlighted the measures it has implemented to address these concerns, including disabling the ability for US drone pilots to sync their flight records with DJI’s servers.
