- An act adopted by the congress requires a security exam by December
- Dji says he is ready to cooperate, but no agency has started the process
- If the audit is not over, a prohibition of DJI drones will come into force
DJI drones are the most popular flying cameras in the United States. Its consumer and professional quadcopters are sold in large numbers, and they are also ranked among the best drones you can buy. However, a huge question mark is still looming on their immediate future. At the end of 2025, DJI drones could be prohibited in the United States – and that prompted the Chinese giant to raise the alarms of the obstacles in which he steals.
We contacted the agencies concerned to fulfill this obligation exercised by the Congress. However, more than six months have passed and this process has still not started.
DJI spokesperson
The conversation on a ban on DJI drones has been circulating for more than a year, while the CCP drone law has made its way through the corridors of the US Congress. It is motivated by national security problems and specifically targets drones manufactured by Chinese companies, including DJI.
The risk of a ban got closer to reality at the end of last year, when the Congress adopted an act which legally imposed an examination of DJI drones. If this does not happen by December 2025, customers in the United States could more buy the best DJI drones. What is the probability? We unpalled DJI’s last statement on the subject and all the details below.
What the law says
At the center of the question is the law on the authorization of national defense for the 2010 financial year (NDAA), adopted by the congress in December 2024. Article 1709 requires an “appropriate national security agency” to assess whether drones manufactured in China – which includes drones manufactured by DJI – have an “unacceptable risk” of American national security. This must be completed within one year.
Above all, the legislation does not specify which agency must undertake the required assessment. If no agency takes the mantle and ends this audit by the end of 2025, DJI drones could be added to the “covered list” of the FCC. This would automatically limit future DJI products approvals in the United States.
In practical terms, this could mean:
- No new DJI drones sold in the United States
- No FCC certification for updated models
- Potential disturbance to support existing customers.
And so far, more than six months since the act was adopted, no agency has started the exam.
What Dji says
Dji has become more and more expressed on the issue, warning that the clock turns to avoid the American prohibition of DJI drones.
In an official declaration shared with Techradar, the company said: “DJI has publicly declared on several occasions that we welcome and seize the opportunity to demonstrate our privacy controls and our security features. We are ready to cooperate with any regulatory process or surveys.”
The declaration continues: “We have also contacted the agencies concerned to fulfill this obligation exercised by the congress. However, more than six months have passed, and this process has still not started. ”
On June 13, 2025, six months until the NDAA deadline, DJI published a blog article calling for action on the “late security review”. The post declares that “the American drone community deserves regular procedure” and called on DJI operators to express themselves.
He made a cry of rallying to “thousands of companies, public security managers, farmers, entrepreneurs and others” who “use DJI technology to serve your community, protect lives, develop your business or provide essential services”.
The post echoed a previous article shared in December 2024, when the NDAA was approved for the first time, which underlined the risk that “DJI was not prevented from launching new products on the American market without any fault on its part, but simply because no agency has chosen to take the work to study our products.”
Verdict: no prohibition – but the countdown is on
For the moment, DJI drones are still legal to buy and fly in the United States. But if no national security agency initiates and ends the audit required by law, expect to see a ban on new models at the end of 2025. Existing owners could always use their drones, but support and future updates could be cut.
The impact of this would be enormous, both for Dji and its customers. Addressing the rest of the world, Elsa Kania, researcher of the Center for a New American Security, said that “among the drawbacks of a ban, there are short -term impacts on a range of users and consumers, given DJI’s comparative advantage compared to most competitors in terms of price and performance.”
The threat is therefore not imaginary. If this happens to pass depends entirely on bureaucratic follow -up. Without guarantee that this happens, American drone users may have to plead for the action if they want to continue to buy and pilot DJI drones.
This is exactly why Dji asks its users to petition their elected representatives, via coalitions such as the Drone Advocacy Alliance. But Clock’s Ticking now becomes stronger and time is exhausted before the potential ban of the United States of Dji.