
Opinion: DJI and The American Drone Delusion: We’re Not Catching Up, We’re Falling Behind
The FCC banned DJI, but American drone makers will never catch up. Eight years of data proves the US drone industry gap is widening, not closing.
Haye Kesteloo is the Editor in Chief and Founder of DroneXL.co, where he covers all drone-related news, DJI rumors and writes drone reviews, and of EVXL.co, for all electric vehicle news. Haye can be reached at haye @ dronexl.co or @hayekesteloo. Also on LinkedIn, Muck Rack, Instagram and YouTube.

The FCC banned DJI, but American drone makers will never catch up. Eight years of data proves the US drone industry gap is widening, not closing.

The Wall Street Journal just obtained something no Western media outlet has managed before—camera access inside the command center of Ukraine’s deadliest drone unit. What they found wasn’t a scrappy volunteer operation anymore. It was an industrial-scale killing machine that runs 24 hours a day, destroying Russian equipment at a rate that’s made its commander…

The $250 million FEMA distributed to World Cup host states last month came with conditions: agencies must have officers trained or scheduled for training at the FBI National Counter UAS Training Center. Massachusetts just revealed what that looks like in practice, and the distribution tells you more about the security strategy than the press release…

Luis Figueiredo's 10,000 DFR flights with DJI Dock and M350 prove existing equipment works. His advice to agencies panicking after FCC ban: buy what works.

Dutch lifeguard brigades in Katwijk and Noordwijk adopt DJI drones for summer 2026 beach rescues, following Australia and New York's proven safety programs.

Amazon just flagged the DJI Mini 4 Pro with DJI RC 2 as its lowest price in 30 days, and after spending the morning comparing configurations, the math tells an interesting story that most deal roundups are missing. The Mini 4 Pro sits at $959, down 9% from its typical $1,059 price point. That is…

Four months ago, we reported that Paris-based Harmattan AI was seeking a billion-dollar valuation and was in talks with Dassault Aviation. The aerospace giant just called, and they’re bringing $200 million to the table. The Series B round values Harmattan at $1.4 billion, officially making it France’s newest defense unicorn and confirming what we’ve been…

DJI Mavic 4 Pro now available on Amazon with Prime shipping and up to 19% off. Three packages from $2,199. Stock limited after FCC Covered List expansion.
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