The U.S. Senate Armed Services Committee just released its version of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and the contentious ‘Countering CCP Drones Act’ is conspicuous by its absence. This rule, which would have essentially banned all DJI drone sales, recently passed the U.S. House of Representatives, putting the popular drone company at risk of losing its valuable U.S. business.
The Senate decision has allegedly been influenced by the more than 6,000 public safety agencies that are against the ban, indicates a report by Commerical UAV News. Furthermore, it is anecdotally claimed that hundreds of thousands of drone pilots have reached out to their House and Senate representatives opposing the law, with some even citing that up to 67% of small American drone businesses could close when DJI drones become unavailable.
This isn’t a final win for DJI yet, though, as the ban was just dropped from the Senate Armed Services Committee’s version of the 2025 NDAA. This will still have to go through a vote by the overall Senate, and then both the Armed Services Committees from the Lower and Upper Houses need to hash out the differences between their versions, if any. Once the Congress and Senate give final approval of the NDAA, it will then head toward the President’s desk for his signature.
All these steps mean that there are still a lot of chances for the ‘Countering CCP Drones Act’ to make it back into the law. However, this seems unlikely as both houses typically vote along party lines. The Republican House introduced the DJI ban, but the Democrat Senate shot it down. And, even if it makes it through the Capitol, President Biden is expected to veto the current House version if it contains “culture war issues”. While this isn’t a direct mention of DJI, it’s one of the primary issues that comes to mind.
The Chinese drone company has been in the crosshairs of some American lawmakers, especially with the passage of the American Security Drone Act (ASDA) last year. This outlaws the use of DJI drones on American land, meaning Federal agencies and anyone working for them cannot use DJI drones.
But, even if the 2025 NDAA passes without the DJI ban, there’s still another law in the works — the Drones for First Responder Act — which aims to expand the ban on DJI’s drones.
DJI is somewhat safe for now, especially with the Democrats in control of the Senate and the White House. But as we’re expecting a hotly contested election later this year, DJI is likely holding its breath to see who will win the majority in November.
