DJI, the most popular consumer drone maker, is suing over the Federal Communications Commission (FCC)’s import ban against new, foreign-made drones, which has been in effect since December 23, 2025.
On Tuesday, the Shenzhen-headquartered company filed a petition [PDF] with the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit that seeks to overturn the FCC’s decision to list DJI on its Covered List. The Covered List includes communications equipment and services 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,” per the FCC.
In its petition dated February 20, 2026, DJI said:
Petitioners seek review of the Ruling on the ground that the FCC exceeded its statutory authority, failed to observe statutorily required procedures, and violated the Fifth Amendment when it purported to add DJI’s products to the Covered List. Petitioners respectfully request his Court hold unlawful, vacate, enjoin, and set aside the Ruling and grant any other relief that the Court finds proper.
In January, the FCC exempted a limited number of foreign-made drones, including some coming from Europe, until the end of this year. The FCC also provided exemptions for some foreign-made critical drone components, including those from Japanese companies Sony and Panasonic, and South Korean company Samsung. The FCC hasn’t exempted any drones or drone parts made in China.
In a December 22 statement, the FCC said that “criminals, hostile foreign actors, and terrorists can use [drones] to present new and serious threats to our homeland.” The FCC said at the time that it made its decision about the ban after a review by an Executive Branch interagency body review that it said had “appropriate national security expertise” and “was convened by the White House.”
DJI reportedly requested that the US government audit its devices multiple times before the US issued the import ban.
In a company statement shared with Bloomberg today, DJI said:
Despite repeated efforts to engage with the government, DJI has never been given the chance to provide information to address or refute any concerns. These procedural and substantive deficiencies violate the Constitution and federal law.
In a statement to Reuters today, DJI also said that the FCC’s decision “carelessly restricts DJI’s business in the US and summarily denies U.S. customers access to its latest technology.”
DoD lawsuit
In an additional attempt to gain approval to sell its newest products in the US, DJI has also been trying to get its name removed from the US Department of Defense’s (DoD’s) list of companies that it alleges work with the Chinese military.
In September 2025, a US district judge in Washington, DC, ruled [PDF] that the DoD had sufficiently considered information submitted by DJI before adding the company to the list.
The ruling said: “The DoD found that DJI’s drones have been used by certain militaries—which DJI appears to acknowledge … not that DJI has actively marketed or designed its drones for military use. It simply appears that the DoD reached a different conclusion during its review of the evidence in the administrative record, which is well within its discretion.”
The judge also emphasized DJI’s status as a National Enterprise Technology Center (NETC), noting that the NETC is orchestrated by the National Development and Reform Commission, a Chinese cabinet department that the ruling says “has a close connection to Chinese military.”
The ruling noted that the court couldn’t confirm the DoD’s allegation that DJI is “‘indirectly owned by the Chinese Communist Party.’”
In October 2025, DJI announced that it filed an appeal with the US Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit following the District of Columbia District Court’s ruling. The Chinese company argued that other companies, like US food and apparel firms, have held NETC status and, in reference to DJI drones’ potential use for military applications, that other products also have “substantial dual-use applications.”
“Again, this does not indicate any Chinese military use of or affiliation with DJI products,” DJI said at the time.
Oral arguments for the appeal were held on February 6, 2026.
Since the import ban against DJI was implemented in the US, DJI hasn’t had significant drone releases but is rumored to be launching the Avata 360, a 360-degree drone, in March, according to reporting this month from Tom’s Guide.
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