Washington and the drone industry: legislation, procurement, security reviews, and agency policy beyond the FAA.
US government drone policy coverage tracks the federal agencies actually setting the rules, separately from the state and local coverage found elsewhere on the site, because a Congressional bill and a city drone permit move on entirely different tracks.
The FAA generates the largest volume of coverage, from rulemaking to the 1,000-plus agencies now cleared for Drone as First Responder flights. The FCC has become just as consequential lately through certification, not flight rules: it functions as a chokepoint for any drone sold in the US, which is how DJI models have ended up blocked without a direct FAA ban attached.
Defense spending moves the largest dollar amounts of anything covered here. The Pentagon committed $1.3 billion to drones in two days, split between counter-drone systems and domestic parts manufacturing, and the White House summoned 40 drone companies as a tariff deadline and Beijing loomed, pulling industry directly into a policy meeting usually reserved for agency staff. The Department of Defense desk tracks these contracts as they land.
NASA, the Department of Homeland Security and FCC filings round out the federal picture. Every US government drone story is in the feed below.
Last updated October 22, 2026 — the feed below updates with every new story.
The FCC blocked a dash cam and a wireless video transmitter over HiSilicon chips, the first case under the rule that also bars DJI boards from new drones.
MassDOT told Amazon it has no request to review its Westborough drone pad, which needs a state certificate and a public hearing before any flights.
Drone Nerds' Evolver DFR sells police a Parrot ANAFI UKR GOV, a DBOX dock and SkyfireAI software on one purchase order, with no recurring subscription.
DJI Mini 3 Pro firmware v01.00.1000 is its first since July 2024 and only fixes 'known issues.' Its last new feature shipped in April 2023.
DJI shipped Mini 2 firmware v01.07.0300 on October 20, its first since March 2023. An FCC waiver lets US owners get it, and lasts until at least 2029.
Amazon has listed drones on 52 straight federal lobbying reports. Its Part 108 comment asks for a path past the 110-pound cap and never says parachute.
ASDC says US spray drone sales fell 59% in 2025 after CBP held DJI shipments, and asks the FCC to keep Part 137 sprayers out of its proposed ban.
Birmingham police can now write $500 drone tickets near ticketed events, starting with the Magic City Classic. HB 429 exempts FAA-legal flights.
The FAA, by a wide margin, covering everything from Drone as First Responder waivers to airspace rulemaking. The FCC has become the second-most consequential agency recently through its certification decisions affecting DJI specifically.
Through equipment certification. Any drone sold in the US needs FCC authorization for its radio components, which has made FCC certification labs and their guidance on drone screening a real chokepoint, blocking new DJI models even without a direct FAA flight ban.
Both. The Department of Defense desk covers major contracts and programs, such as the Pentagon committing $1.3 billion to drones in two days, alongside the civilian rulemaking coming out of the FAA and FCC, because the two increasingly move together on China-related restrictions.
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