Chinese dronemaker DJI is apparently not taking their imminent ban from the USA drone market, after it confirmed on Tuesday it had filed a lawsuit suit challenging the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) decision to bar imports of all of its new models and critical components.
To be fair to the FCC, the ban extents to all Chinese drone companies and components, not just DJI. Chinese drone manufacturers and original equipment manufacturers like Autel will also not be exporting their drone products to the USA after the ruling.
Only that this will really sting for DJI; they are only the biggest drone maker in the world after all.
In a statement, the company said it had challenged the FCC decision in the US Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit.
"It (the ban) carelessly restricts DJI’s business in the US and summarily denies U.S. customers access to its latest technology," DJI said.
The FCC announced in December last year that it had barred imports of all new models of foreign-made drones and critical components, including those from China's DJI and Autel, claiming that they pose risks to US national security.
A report by The Wall Street Journal said the ban has been met with uproar from large swaths of the nearly half a million certified American commercial drone pilots.
Many pilots are reportedly hoarding DJI drones and spare parts, sending last-ditch letters to Congressional representatives and the White House, and forecasting the demise of their livelihoods that rely on China-made drones for which they say there is no Western replacement, the report said.
The FCC did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
In December 2024, Congress ordered that DJI and Autel be added to the banned list within one year unless a security review deemed it appropriate to continue sales.
The move represented a significant escalation in Washington's battles to crack down on Chinese-made drones in recent years.
DJI is represented by Travis LeBlanc, a former FCC enforcement bureau chief, and former U.S. Solicitor General Elizabeth Prelogar.
In January, the agency said it was exempting imports of some new models of foreign-made drones and critical components from the sweeping import ban adopted in December through the end of 2026. The exemption did not include any Chinese drones.
DJI’s troubles in the USA have been brewing since 2017, which escalated in 2019 when the Department of Interior grounded its entire fleet of 800 drones, citing cyber security concerns with DJI.
In September last year, a judge rejected a bid by DJI to be removed from the US Defense Department's list of companies allegedly working with Beijing’s military. DJI sells more than half of all US commercial drones.
Another Chinese manufacturer Hikvision also filed suit in December challenging the FCC decision that blocked new approvals for devices with parts from companies on its Covered List and let the agency bar previously approved equipment in some instances.