DJI drone ban dropped by the U.S. Senate — the Senate draft of 2025 NDAA does not include the ‘Countering CCP Drones Act’ that would kill DJI business in America

DJI Drone
(Image credit: SLON V KASHE / Unsplash)

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.

Jowi Morales
Contributing Writer

Jowi Morales is a tech enthusiast with years of experience working in the industry. He’s been writing with several tech publications since 2021, where he’s been interested in tech hardware and consumer electronics.

  • bit_user
    The article said:
    The Senate decision has allegedly been influenced by the more than 6,000 public safety agencies that are against the ban,
    Presumably, this is because they've already incorporated too much DJI products, technologies, and infrastructure into their operations. However, that's a manageable problem. The sane thing to do is implement a phase-down plan that eventually results is DJI being cut off in something like 3-5 years. That should give people plenty of time to stock up on replacement parts for their existing fleet and find/transition to new suppliers.

    The idea that once you start using a supplier, you're locked-in for eternity is absurd. I'm sure it'll be an annoying and an added expense to transition away from DJI, but please don't try to tell me it's impossible or even infeasible, given enough time & advanced notice.
    Reply
  • aprilsnow
    There is also the unfortunate fact that DJI by far has the best technology for the price point the average consumer pays. This, probably affects more so the non commercial end user, but as things stand today, it's a significant gap. Hopefully this changes soon.
    Reply
  • garrett040
    If there was one half decent for value with the same features DJI drones have made in the US i'd get it. Shame.
    Reply
  • USAFRet
    garrett040 said:
    If there was one half decent for value with the same features DJI drones have made in the US i'd get it. Shame.
    Which other ones have you looked at?

    I quite like my Holystone.
    Reply
  • bit_user
    About 10 years ago, I almost went to work for a drone maker called CyPhy Works. I'm just now reading they went bankrupt in 2019. I remember they did a fair amount of business in public safety, with tethered drones that could stay aloft like 24/7 - perfect for providing continuous areal monitoring of big events. They were also branching into the untethered market, when I talked to them. They seemed to have pretty good tech and smart folks from iRobot and MIT. I wonder if they just got undercut too much by cheap imports.
    Reply