Earlier this month, the United States Senate Armed Services Committee completed its revised version of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) and, unlike the House version, it did not contain a ban on DJI drones. However, an amendment to add it back has been submitted.
Senator Rick Scott (R-FL) submitted an amendment to the bill which includes the ban on DJI (and Autel Robotics) drones. The chances the amendment is accepted are higher given that it was co-sponsored by Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), making it bipartisan.
The bill looked as though it had been dropped as it was not included in the initial version of the completed Senate NDAA bill due to what Commercial UAV News reports was considerable “blowback” from representatives from over 6,000 public safety agencies, the majority of which were police and fire departments. The publication reports that a large number of independent drone pilots also reached out to representatiaves and expressed that a ban on DJI would crater US drone businesses and close upward of 67% of them, should it pass.
That line likely came from organizations like the Drone Advocacy Alliance — a self-described “grassroots advocacy organization” sponsored and maintained by DJI — which has been urging drone users in the United States to speak out against the ban.
“As the SASC meets behind closed doors, it’s hard to know exactly why the provision against DJI in the House version was left out of the Senate markup. There has been a lot of engagement in recent weeks from people who rely on our products for their businesses, their livelihoods, to save lives [firefighters and other emergency services], to spray their crops, and you certainly would hope that that has an impact on the thinking. But we don’t know,” Adam Welsh, head of global policy at DJI, said earlier this month when the Senate initially didn’t include the ban in its NDAA bill.
While it felt like a victory, DJI didn’t seem to believe the fight was over, and was prepared to push drone users to leverage the August recess to drive the point home. Given the new amendment, that strategy looks especially smart now.
“During August recess, U.S. senators and representatives leave Washington, DC, and travel to their home states and districts to begin a fast-paced schedule of constituent meetings, town halls, and other community events. This is the time when they hear directly from constituents, and for drone enthusiasts worried about the Countering CCP Drones Act, it is the best time of the year to make an impact by requesting a meeting, in person or virtually, with their members of Congress,” the Drone Advocacy Alliance says.
“While meetings like this may be intimidating for some, please know that you DO NOT have to be a professional lobbyist to do this, in fact, quite the opposite. This is your opportunity to bypass the DC lobbyists and ensure your message is heard loud and clear. It is also important to note that you don’t have to be a drone expert to do a meeting like this. You simply need to be able to share why you use the drones you use and how you, your family, your business, public safety, etc. would be impacted if you could no longer use your drones.”
As Commercial UAV News points out, President Joe Biden has said he would veto the version of the Countering CCP Drones Act for including “culture war issues,” although this isn’t specific to the DJI drone ban.
Image credits: DJI