No Single Tower Shall Rule Them All - Close the Backdoors, Open the Market
Trusted hardware and permissioned low‑altitude airspace protects property, aligns regulators and operators.
America’s skies are getting a firmware update. The FCC’s latest move isn’t protectionism, it’s protocol hardening. They are closing exploits before they’re weaponized. Drones, radios, and radars aren’t toys anymore; they’re infrastructure. And infrastructure can’t run on untrusted code or foreign control. The message to DJI and its promoters is simple: resilience beats dependence. Security isn’t a brake on innovation; it is the architecture that makes it possible.
Promoters of DJI are worried. Infrastructure must be resilient and not dominated by any one vendor, stack, or country. Hardware, including tracking nodes and radar, is the same. No single point of failure if success is the goal.
In a unanimous 3–0 vote, the FCC just tightened its rules to close loopholes in its Covered List framework, the list for gear deemed an “unacceptable” national‑security risk. Until now, bans have hit only “new” devices from names like Huawei and Hikvision.
“The Commission’s rules directs the Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau to publish a list of communications equipment and services (Covered List) that are deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons.” FCC Covered List
This change goes further, as it allows the FCC to reach back to previously authorized devices and block suspect radio components in otherwise approved products. This means if a company is judged a risk, the FCC can shut the door even on older approvals.
There are other implications for promoters of DJI drones and components in the US, too, including commercial UAV operators who’ve standardized on Chinese airframes and parts.
It’s a proactive shield, ensuring that no corner of the US communications infrastructure remains vulnerable to foreign exploitation. The move signals a maturing ecosystem where security is the bedrock of innovation.
At its core, these enhancements are a net positive for the drone sector and beyond, injecting urgency into the race for resilient, homegrown alternatives. With Chinese manufacturers like DJI commanding an overwhelming 70-80% of the U.S. market, lawmakers have long fretted over this dominance. It is not just an economic imbalance, but also a strategic chokepoint that could throttle American ingenuity at a moment’s notice.
DJI’s grip, while delivering affordable, high-performance tools that have revolutionized fields from agriculture to emergency response, fosters an unhealthy dependency on overseas supply chains prone to geopolitical whims. By leveling the playing field, the FCC’s action catalyzes investment in U.S.-led solutions, from emerging startups advancing battery tech and AI navigation to drone infrastructure and the utilization of air rights.
