FAA Drops Section 2209 NPRM, DJI FCC Deadline Looms, and 218 Wildfire Drone Incursions in 2025

Welcome to your weekly UAS news update. I have five stories for you this week — it’s a longer one, but there’s a lot of important information packed in.

• The FAA finally dropped the Section 2209 NPRM (a big deal we’ve been waiting on for nearly a decade)
• The public comment window is closing for DJI’s FCC covered list challenge
• The U.S. Forest Service reported a record-breaking 218 drone incursions over wildfires last year
• ACSL is partnering with Dragonfly
• And we just hit 7 years of uninterrupted drone news. Let’s get to it.

FAA Files Long-Overdue Section 2209 NPRM

First up, the FAA has finally filed its long overdue — and “long overdue” is an understatement — Section 2209 Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM). This opens up a 60-day comment window that will determine how fixed-site facilities can apply for permanent drone restrictions over their property.

The 181-page rule creates a brand-new 14 CFR Part 74 framework with two tiers: a Standard Unmanned Aircraft Flight Restriction and a Special Unmanned Aircraft Flight Restriction (UAFR for short). The FAA proposes limiting eligibility to 16 critical infrastructure sectors, which could encompass more than 9,000 eligible facilities.

Here’s the important part for the drone industry: the proposed rule includes a transit lane for commercial operators, which is good news. Drones operating under Part 91, 107, the upcoming 108, 135, and 137 will be allowed to transit a Standard UAFR if they broadcast Remote ID, transit in the shortest practical time, and notify the facility. Unfortunately, recreational flyers are not on that list — at least the way I read it so far.

The proposed rule also explicitly does not grant facility operators counter-drone authority such as jamming or drone capture, which is interesting. It’s strictly an airspace designation. I’m working on a full-length video to break this down in more detail, since this literally dropped the day before we recorded, so be sure you’re subscribed for more information.

DJI FCC Covered List Comment Deadline Is May 11

Next up, the deadline to submit a public comment on the FCC petition regarding DJI’s placement on the covered list is rapidly approaching. That’s May 11th — Monday after you watch this.

DJI is challenging the FCC’s December 2025 decision that effectively blocks the authorization of new affected products for sale or import into the United States. DJI also has legal action pending in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 9th Circuit. So far we’ve seen more than 460 comments submitted, and the Department of Defense has recently urged the FCC to reject DJI’s petition.

If you want your voice heard, you can file your comment through the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System before May 11th. That is the deadline.

Record 218 Drone Incursions Over Wildfires in 2025

Third up, a reminder that flying over emergencies carries serious consequences. The U.S. Forest Service reported a staggering 218 drone sightings over active wildfires in 2025. This is not a good score — higher is not better in this case. That’s more than the previous 7 years combined.

Most of these happened during the Eaton and Palisades fires in LA, which saw 184 drone incursions, including the incident we reported on January 9, 2025, where a privately flown drone collided with a Canadair CL-415 Super Scooper aircraft, punching a 3×6 hole in the left wing. The operator reportedly launched from a parking structure, lost sight of the drone, and didn’t know it had hit the aircraft until investigators tracked him down. He pleaded guilty, paid $65,000 in restitution, and faces up to a year in federal prison.

His defense argued that his DJI drone’s geofencing failed to stop him, which is not a defense — I hate to say it. Remember, DJI removed mandatory geofencing enforcement from consumer drones in early 2025, shifting to only advisory warnings. If you rely entirely on software to keep you out of restricted airspace, you might find yourself in major legal trouble like this guy did. As always, please don’t be that guy — make sure you check the TFRs at tfr.faa.gov.

ACSL and Dragonfly Sign Exclusive Canadian Distribution Deal

Next, Dragonfly and ACSL signed an exclusive master distributor agreement on May 7, 2026, making Dragonfly the sole Canadian distributor of ACSL drone technology. The agreement also includes technical integration work between the two companies’ platforms.

The initial product offering is the ACSL SOTEN, a Japanese-built compact drone with swappable payloads. SOTEN supports four interchangeable cameras: a 20-megapixel 1-inch sensor with a mechanical shutter, the SAMO dual thermal/optical system, a multispectral option, and an optical zoom camera. It operates with the ACSL Taiten controller, which has a 7-inch 1,500-nit screen and an IP54 rating.

Under the integration component of the agreement, Dragonfly’s Apex and Commander 3 XL drones will be made compatible with SOTEN’s swappable payloads, as well as the Taiten ground controller — allowing operators to mix components across both manufacturers’ systems. SOTEN joins Dragonfly’s existing lineup of Apex, Commander XL, and the heavy-lift platform, which collectively support payloads from 6.6 lb all the way up to 100 lb. It’s a cool partnership between two companies trying to make their gear more compatible with each other.

7 Years of Uninterrupted Drone News

And finally, today marks 7 years of uninterrupted drone news. We’ve covered a ton of ground since we started. We now have over 460,000 students, over a million enrollments (including 148,000 Part 107 students), 61,000 free stickers sent — and those are going to keep going thanks to community donations — over 28,000 active members in our online community, over 365,000 free TRUST certificates issued, and over 19,000 WINGS credits issued through the FAA Safety platform.

The numbers keep going, but thank you for all of your support. I could not have done it without you. I actually started this news update before we even had a company name. I just wanted to keep you up to date, and I think we’ve done a great job at doing that.

I’ll see you on Monday for the live PostFlight in the premium community as well, where I’m sure this week will involve plenty of opinions that aren’t always suitable for YouTube. Hopefully none of that makes it to YouTube — that’s for sure. Have a great weekend, and I’ll see you then.

This article is based on a video by the Pilot Institute YouTube channel. For more drone news and training from Greg, check out his articles on DroneXL.