FCC Covered List

The FCC Covered List is a US Federal Communications Commission regulatory instrument under Section 1709 of the FY25 NDAA, designating communications equipment and components that cannot receive new FCC authorisations on national security grounds. On 22 December 2025 the FCC added all foreign-manufactured drones and critical components to the list, preventing companies such as DJI and Autel Robotics from certifying new products for the US market.

The Covered List acts as a market-access gate: companies on it cannot sell newly certified products to US consumers, federal contractors, or military end-users. For DJI, the world's largest drone manufacturer, it effectively closes the US market to new product lines. For the US defence industry, it removes the cheapest commercial-off-the-shelf drone options from government procurement lists, pushing defence users toward more expensive US-manufactured alternatives.