Who Supplies America's Drones?

Da-Jiang Innovations — DJI — was founded in Shenzhen in 2006. By the mid-2010s it had established dominance in the consumer drone market through a combination of engineering quality, aggressive pricing, and rapid product iteration. Industry estimates consistently place DJI's share of the U.S. consumer and prosumer drone market at 70–80%, with some estimates higher.

DJI's product lines span consumer photography drones (the Phantom and Mini series), professional cinema platforms (the Inspire and Zenmuse lines), agricultural spraying drones, and enterprise inspection platforms. The company also manufactures drone components — flight controllers, gimbals, cameras — that are used in third-party drone builds.

The nearest American competitor, Skydio, holds a fraction of DJI's market share and focuses primarily on the enterprise and government segments. No American company produces a consumer drone that competes with DJI on price, capability, or distribution at scale.

The U.S. government has taken a series of actions against DJI, though none amounts to a comprehensive ban on civilian use. In 2017, the U.S. Army issued a directive prohibiting the use of DJI products due to cybersecurity concerns. The directive cited 'increased awareness of cyber vulnerabilities associated with DJI products.' The Army's ban has remained in effect.

In 2020, the Commerce Department added DJI to its Entity List, restricting American companies from exporting technology to DJI without a license. The Entity List designation does not prohibit Americans from buying or using DJI products — it restricts American suppliers from selling to DJI.

In 2021, the Treasury Department added DJI to its Non-SDN Chinese Military-Industrial Complex Companies List (NS-CMIC List), restricting American investment in DJI securities. In 2022, the FCC added DJI to its Covered List of companies posing an unacceptable risk to national security — a designation that prohibits the use of FCC equipment authorization for new DJI products, effectively blocking new DJI drone models from receiving the regulatory approvals needed for sale in the U.S.

The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2020 prohibited the Department of Defense from purchasing or using drones manufactured by DJI or other covered foreign entities. Subsequent NDAAs have extended and tightened these restrictions across federal agencies.

Federal restrictions on DJI apply to federal procurement and, through the FCC Covered List, to new product authorizations. They do not prohibit state and local governments, private companies, or individuals from purchasing and operating existing DJI products. The result is a significant gap between federal policy and actual use.

State and local law enforcement agencies across the United States operate DJI drones. Fire departments use DJI platforms for aerial reconnaissance. Infrastructure operators — utilities, pipeline companies, telecommunications firms — use DJI drones for inspection. Agricultural operators use DJI platforms for crop monitoring and spraying.

A 2023 report by the American Security Drone Act Coalition estimated that thousands of state and local government agencies operate DJI drones. Several states have enacted their own restrictions on government use of Chinese-manufactured drones; others have not.

The national security concern most frequently cited regarding DJI is data. DJI drones collect imagery, video, GPS coordinates, and flight path data. The question is where that data goes and who can access it.

DJI has consistently denied that it transmits user data to the Chinese government. The company has introduced 'local data mode' options that disable internet connectivity during flight, and has submitted its products to third-party security audits. The Department of Homeland Security's Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) issued guidance in 2019 warning that data collected by DJI drones 'is at risk of being accessed by the Chinese government.'

Independent security researchers have identified vulnerabilities in DJI's software and data handling at various points. DJI has disputed some findings and patched others. The underlying concern — that a Chinese company operating under Chinese law is subject to Chinese government data requests — has not been resolved by technical measures alone.

Skydio, the leading American drone manufacturer, has focused on the enterprise and government market rather than consumer applications. Its drones use autonomous flight and obstacle avoidance technology that differentiates them from DJI's products. Skydio has received U.S. government contracts and is approved for federal use.

However, Skydio's products are significantly more expensive than comparable DJI platforms, and the company's production scale is a fraction of DJI's. Other American drone startups — Joby Aviation, Zipline, Shield AI — operate in adjacent markets (air taxis, delivery, defense) rather than the general commercial and consumer segments where DJI dominates.

The American Security Drone Act, signed into law as part of the FY2024 NDAA, prohibits federal agencies from procuring drones manufactured by covered foreign entities and provides a framework for a 'Blue UAS' list of approved domestic and allied-nation drone manufacturers. The list remains limited in scope relative to DJI's product breadth.

Beyond DJI, the drone supply chain has significant Chinese components. Lithium polymer batteries used in most consumer and commercial drones are predominantly manufactured in China. Electronic speed controllers, motors, and frame components are largely sourced from Chinese manufacturers. Even drones assembled outside China — including some marketed as American-made — often contain Chinese-origin components.

The FAA's drone registration database contains millions of registered unmanned aircraft. The proportion of those aircraft that contain Chinese-manufactured components — whether DJI-branded or otherwise — is not publicly tracked, but industry estimates suggest it is substantial.

Effective October 13, 2026, the FCC's Third Report and Order (FCC 26-50, ET Docket No. 21-232) closes an important regulatory pathway through which Chinese drone technology could enter the American market under another manufacturer's brand. The rule prohibits new equipment authorizations for devices incorporating certain logic-bearing hardware components — potentially including flight controllers, communications modules, and processors — manufactured by companies on the FCC's Covered List, where the completed device would be prohibited if manufactured by the listed company itself.

The restrictions are particularly consequential for DJI and Autel Robotics, as well as American manufacturers incorporating their technology. Three qualifications are important. First, the rule applies prospectively — previously authorized equipment generally remains unaffected. Second, the component prohibition applies to manufacturers independently identified on the Covered List, not automatically to every foreign manufacturer. Third, the Commission expressly declined, for now, to extend the prohibition to software, firmware, or all passive components.

The order also strengthens FCC authority over online marketplaces selling unauthorized equipment and requires additional certification procedures for modifications involving Covered List entities. Online marketplaces face FCC identification-display compliance dates beginning March 1, 2027, with another category of marketplaces subject to a June 1, 2027 deadline. The immediate development to watch is how the FCC's equipment-authorization system applies the new component restrictions to pending and future applications — particularly authorization denials involving DJI or Autel components, and enforcement against distributors marketing unauthorized products.