DJI is urging the U.S. drone community to take action, warning that the Federal Aviation Administration’s (FAA) proposed Part 108 rules for Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations could exclude the vast majority of drones currently in use and sideline today’s skilled pilots. The drone manufacturer has called on the industry to provide feedback on the draft rule, which is open for public comment until October 6, 2025, under Docket FAA-2025-1908.
While DJI commends the FAA’s goal of creating a scalable framework for BVLOS flights, the company argues the current draft contains “two fundamental problems” that would stifle innovation and ground countless existing operations. The proposed rule, as written, would not only prohibit the use of non-U.S.-manufactured drones, including all of DJI’s market-leading platforms, but it would also favor highly automated flights, effectively excluding operations that rely on direct pilot control. For the thousands of professional drone pilots and businesses that have built their services around today’s technology, these proposed rules could represent a significant barrier to the future of the industry.
A Framework with ‘Fundamental Problems’
In a detailed analysis published on its DJI Viewpoints blog, the company outlines several critical flaws in the proposed Part 108. The central issues revolve around airworthiness requirements tied to country-of-origin and a narrow focus on automation that doesn’t reflect the reality of current drone operations.
“As drafted, eligibility is limited to U.S. production or countries with specific bilateral agreements addressing UAS,” DJI stated. “Today, the U.S. does not have any agreements with other countries that would let foreign drone makers apply for the FAA’s proposed airworthiness acceptance.”
This provision alone would disqualify a significant portion of the drones used daily by public safety agencies, inspectors, and commercial operators across the country. Furthermore, the rule’s emphasis on “Simplified User Interaction” (SUI) would render most manually-flown missions non-compliant, even those that incorporate automated features like DJI’s Dock and FlightHub 2 systems.
Key Technical and Operational Exclusions
DJI’s critique extends to several technical specifications that would create immediate and widespread challenges for the drone industry. The company argues these requirements are not only restrictive but also unnecessary for ensuring safety in many low-risk BVLOS scenarios.
Beyond these technical hurdles, the proposed rule would require site-by-site approvals for every area of operation, a step backward that mirrors the current, cumbersome waiver process. This, combined with extensive data-sharing mandates and rigid fleet size caps, could create what some industry experts are calling “regulatory cliffs” that discourage growth, particularly for small businesses.
DroneXL’s Take
The FAA’s push to create a standardized framework for BVLOS is a necessary and welcome step toward unlocking the full potential of commercial drone operations. However, as DJI and other industry stakeholders have pointed out, a rule that legislates most of the current market out of existence is not a step forward. Is this an attempt to build a regulatory moat for a future dominated by a few large-scale, automated logistics networks, at the expense of the vibrant ecosystem of pilots and service providers who are driving innovation today?
The country-of-origin restriction, in particular, feels less like a safety measure and more like a protectionist policy that ignores the global nature of the drone industry. Proven safety records and adherence to consensus standards, not the location of a factory, should be the measure of a drone’s airworthiness. The FAA’s proposal seems to be solving for the operational model of tomorrow—think widespread, autonomous package delivery—while forgetting the millions of safe and effective flights being conducted by skilled pilots today.
The deadline for public comment is fast approaching. It is crucial for every drone professional, from the solo real estate photographer to the public safety chief, to make their voice heard. The final shape of Part 108 will determine whether the future of BVLOS in the U.S. is one of open innovation or closed doors.
What are your thoughts on the proposed Part 108? Let us know in the comments below.
Photos courtesy of DJI.
