Drone News: Foreign Drone Ban Updates, DHS Creates Counter Drone Office, Super Bowl LX No-Fly Zone

Welcome to your weekly UAS news update. We have three stories for you this week. An update on the foreign drone ban. A couple updates actually. The Department of Homeland Security is creating a new permanent counter drone office. And then lastly, the Super Bowl is a no-fly zone. Let’s get to it.

Commerce Department withdraws Chinese drone restrictions

First up, according to a report from Reuters, the US Commerce Department has withdrawn its plan to impose sweeping restrictions on Chinese-made drones.

Now, this was the result of the NPRM, an advanced notice of proposed rulemaking that we discussed last year, if you remember, if you’ve been following us for a while. And it was targeting the entire supply chain, including things like flight controllers, operating software, and data storage.

So, why the sudden change of heart? We’re not quite sure, but some reports say that it might be a diplomatic move as the White House is reportedly freezing some actions against China ahead of the planned meeting with the US president and Chinese president in April.

It’s also possible that the rule is no longer necessary as the goal of all of this has been already achieved through the FCC action. I actually don’t believe it’s a political move. The other ban that we’re going to talk about in a second is still fully in place.

FCC clarifies foreign drone rules with exemptions

Speaking of which, the FCC has clarified its own rules here. The agency partially reversed a sweeping ban on all foreign drones, but with some major catches. Don’t get too excited.

The new rules exempt drones on the Pentagon’s Blue UAS list. So aircraft from companies like Parrot, Skydio, and Wingtra are now fine. It’s also exempting US manufactured drones as long as the domestic parts account for 65% of the cost. So, there could be foreign parts in there, including Chinese parts, but as long as it meets that requirement, then it’s fine.

But that exemption only lasts until 2027.

The most important part here for our community is that the ban still does cover future models of DJI and other brands. And then again, this does not ground your existing drone. It means that no new DJI drones can actually obtain the required FCC authorization for sale in the United States.

DHS creates permanent counter drone office

Next up, the Department of Homeland Security is getting very serious about counter drone operations. The DHS announced that it’s creating a new permanent office that they’re going to call the Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aircraft System and Counter UAS. I don’t know what the acronym for that is, but it’s going to be very long.

This is being launched with an initial $115 million investment to beef up security for the America 250 celebration and for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

But this is just a small piece of the entire puzzle. The funding on top of all that is $500 million for counter drone programs that was announced last October. We talked about this as well. And then a potential $1.5 billion in contracts for Customs and Border Protection to acquire new counter drone technology.

DHS revealed that it has already conducted over 1,500 missions. This is kind of a big number, to protect the US from illicit drone activities since 2018. If you do the math, it actually works out to more than four counter drone operations every single week that are happening mostly under the radar.

This new office will formalize and expand the capability that we just talked about. It’s also going to serve as the coordination hub for local police departments which were recently given the authority to disable drones under the SAFER SKIES Act. We also talked about this a couple weeks ago.

So what does that mean for you? Well, the World Cup is basically the justification here for building a permanent nationwide counter drone infrastructure. The equipment and the training that your local police department is going to get for the World Cup won’t just disappear after the games.

I actually don’t think this is a bad thing at all. I think as long as it’s implemented correctly, this is something that is very much needed in the United States.

Super Bowl LX is a no-fly zone

And then finally this week, a very important public service announcement. If you’re going to be going anywhere near the Northern California part where the Super Bowl is going to be, the FAA has released the advisory that Super Bowl 60 is happening on February 8, 2026 at the Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara. And they’re not going to be messing around.

As always, this is a place where you definitely don’t want to get caught flying your drone.

In the days leading to the game from February 3rd to February 7th, there’s going to be a TFR with a 1 nautical mile radius of downtown San Francisco up to 1,000 feet above the ground.

And then on game day, February 8th, the TFR is going to expand to 2 miles at 11:00 AM and then 30 miles at 2:30 PM.

Don’t fly in the TFR unless you have permission, which is going to be difficult to get. The FAA, DHS, the FBI will find you. I guarantee you they will find you and they will take your drone. And then of course on top of that you could be facing fines and certificate action if you have a certificate.

Just don’t be that guy. This is an important one.

Now there are about 50 or 60 people that get caught every year doing that stuff.

If you haven’t seen it already, the results of our survey on how the industry is going to be affected by the FCC ruling is out. You can check out the video. There’s been so many comments from all of you. Thank you for all the support.

Have a great weekend and we’ll see you next time.

Editorial Note: This article was researched and drafted with the assistance of AI to ensure technical accuracy and archive retrieval. All insights, industry analysis, and perspectives were provided exclusively by Haye Kesteloo and our other DroneXL authors, editors, and YouTube partners to ensure the “Human-First” perspective our readers expect.