What still flies
out of a US box.
And what quietly does not.
Drones sit under an earlier and wider rule than ground robots. Since 22 December 2025 no foreign-produced aircraft can get a new US authorization at all. Here is the board, with the dates that matter and the three regimes everyone keeps mixing up.
Three rules, and
only one of them
is about legality.
Most of what is said about drone bans collapses three separate regimes into one sentence. They point in different directions and they bind different people.
FCC equipment authorization
Decides whether a radio device may be imported, marketed, or sold at all. This is the only one of the three that can make a reseller a lawbreaker. Marketing an aircraft without a valid authorization is a violation no matter who the buyer is.
Procurement law
Decides who may buy with government funds, not whether the platform is legal. The American Security Drone Act reaches federal buyers and federal grant money, the NDAA and the Department of War 1260H list reach defence contracting, and a growing patchwork of state statutes reaches state and local budgets. A private buyer in Florida may lawfully own a Chinese drone; the Florida sheriff's office generally may not buy one. Confusing these two costs a sale and, worse, costs trust. Confirm the rule that binds your own money with your grant officer before you commit it.
Section 232 tariffs
Decides what an import costs, not whether it is lawful. A margin problem. In force since 3 September 2026 at 25 percent for most aircraft and 100 percent for the heavy and thermal categories, so it lands on the duty line of every quote we issue. The rates and the country caps are cited at the foot of this page.
The sentence to never say. A Chinese drone is not illegal to own. Telling a customer it is will lose you the sale to whoever tells them the truth. What is true is narrower and more useful: no new foreign-produced model can receive an FCC authorization after 22 December 2025, models authorized before that date keep the authorization and may still be imported and sold, the Section 232 tariffs change what they cost, and public agencies in a growing number of states cannot spend public money on them.
Dates that change
what a drone costs
or whether it sells.
The comment window closed on this date in PS Docket 26-189. No rule has been adopted, so nothing has changed yet for aircraft already authorized, and anything you already own stays lawful to fly. What is on the table is severe: the proposed definition of military grade catches any FOREIGN-PRODUCED aircraft carrying a thermal or LiDAR sensor, any foreign-produced docking station, and anything at or over 55 lb on takeoff, and if it is adopted as written, import and marketing stop 180 days after the final rule. US-produced aircraft are outside it. This is the proceeding to watch before committing to a foreign fleet.
In force since this date, and it lands on the duty line of every affected quote. 100 percent on drones over 25 kg, thermal imaging aircraft, docking stations and named critical components. 25 percent on consumer and commercial drones at or under 25 kg. Country caps of 15 percent are available for Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Switzerland, Liechtenstein and the EU, and 10 percent for the UK, claimed rather than automatic and conditioned on non-Chinese critical content. Qualifying US onshoring plans can reach 0 percent. The only deferral is narrow: drones and components the Department of War approved for a Covered List exemption within 20 days of the proclamation, meaning by 2 September, are not charged until 9 February 2027.
The FCC's July 2026 order adds obligations at the online point of sale: the FCC ID has to be displayed on the listing, with due diligence and seller certification duties attached to third-party listings. Law firm coverage puts the general effective date here, then phases the marketplace duties in six months later for marketplaces that take title or handle the device, and nine months later for qualifying third-party listings, which is reported as 1 March and 1 June 2027. We have not read those dates out of the Federal Register ourselves, so treat them as reported rather than confirmed by us. This one binds us as much as it binds anyone selling to you.
A further 25 percent reaches additional UAS components, deferred to give supply chains time to move.
The exception that keeps foreign-produced Blue UAS listed aircraft importable and sellable was extended to this date on 21 July 2026. It matters only for foreign-produced aircraft. A US-produced aircraft sits outside the foreign-UAS Covered List entry entirely, so no expiry runs against it and nothing about a Skydio, Freefly, Teal or BRINC airframe changes on this date. Conditional approvals granted by the Department of War no longer carry a termination date.
35 lines, 27 makers,
one question each.
Blue UAS listed aircraft first. Where we have confirmed which list an aircraft is on, Cleared or Select, the row names it. Where we have not, the row says so. Aircraft authorized before the cutoff next, which may still be imported and sold. Closed lines last, named on purpose so nobody wastes a month chasing them.
Blue UAS Cleared List, added in July 2026 together with the R10 and the X10 dock. Sold through an authorized reseller program with published terms, which is the cleanest dealer path we found in this category.
Defense variant of the X10, offered for US military and allied use. We have not confirmed whether the listing is Cleared or Select. Expect end-user qualification before pricing.
Indoor inspection platform, added to the Blue UAS Cleared List in July 2026 alongside the X10. The lowest priced Blue UAS listed aircraft our search turned up.
Reported as Blue UAS Select. A re-check on 16 September 2026 could not reach the DCMA list to confirm which list it is on, and one aggregator shows it as Cleared, so ask for the listing itself before you rely on either word. Freefly publishes an actual price list and runs a reseller intake, which is rare in this segment.
Heavy lift cinema and industrial platform. One of the earliest Blue listings still current. We have not confirmed whether the listing is Cleared or Select.
States that its aircraft are engineered, assembled and supported in the United States. Also carries Green UAS certification for commercial buyers. We have not confirmed whether the Blue listing is Cleared or Select.
Larger payload sibling to the IF800. Same US build and support position. We have not confirmed whether the Blue listing is Cleared or Select.
Compact reconnaissance platform. We have not confirmed whether the Blue listing is Cleared or Select. Vantage publishes a labelled sales line, which most makers in this class do not.
Reported as a newer Blue UAS Select listing from the same maker. Not re-confirmed against the DCMA list on 16 September 2026, so confirm which list before a procurement decision rests on it.
Night-capable small UAS. We have not confirmed whether the Blue listing is Cleared or Select. Red Cat also owns FlightWave, so Teal, FlightWave and Red Cat are one counterparty, not three.
FPV strike trainer lineage. We have not confirmed whether the Blue listing is Cleared or Select. Defense channel, expect end-user qualification before pricing.
Vertical takeoff fixed wing. We have not confirmed whether the Blue listing is Cleared or Select. Acquired by Red Cat in September 2024.
Coaxial cylindrical airframe built for weather. We have not confirmed whether the Blue listing is Cleared or Select. Now part of Robinson Helicopter, so contact records carrying the old domain need updating.
Tethered persistent aircraft. We have not confirmed whether the Blue listing is Cleared or Select. Publishes CAGE and DUNS codes on its own site, which speeds federal paperwork.
One of the most recent Blue listings we found. We have not confirmed whether it is Cleared or Select. Designed and assembled at a US headquarters per the maker.
Autonomous monitoring systems including docked variants. We have not confirmed whether the Blue listing is Cleared or Select. US produced, so the foreign-produced military grade proposal in PS Docket 26-189 does not reach it.
High rate FPV production. We have not confirmed whether the Blue listing is Cleared or Select. Defense channel only in practice.
Ruggedized squad-level aircraft. We have not confirmed whether the Blue listing is Cleared or Select. No sales channel is published; expect qualification first.
US built with in-house battery assembly and a new Seattle factory as of March 2026, and NDAA compliant by vendor disclosure. We could not confirm a Blue UAS Cleared listing, so any agency sale that specifically requires Blue clearance needs written confirmation from BRINC first.
Long range linear inspection. Compliance rests on NDAA vendor disclosure rather than a Blue listing, which is a weaker basis. Worth knowing before quoting an agency.
French built, Blue UAS cleared since 2022, exempt through 1 January 2028. Parrot has exited consumer entirely, so this line is its whole business now.
Mapping VTOL sold through a published distributor network of over one hundred partners. We have not confirmed whether the Blue listing is Cleared or Select. Swiss origin makes the 15 percent tariff cap claimable rather than automatic, so confirm the content condition before pricing against it.
Newer Blue listing from the same maker, and we have not confirmed whether it is Cleared or Select. Same distributor route.
The US built Vector is reported as Blue UAS Select, not re-confirmed against the DCMA list on 16 September 2026. The German built Trinity Pro rides on NDAA vendor disclosure instead, which is a different and weaker basis, so confirm which airframe a quote refers to.
senseFly lineage fixed wing mapping aircraft. We have not confirmed whether the Blue listings are Cleared or Select. The company now trades as EagleNXT, so older contact records are stale.
Nano reconnaissance aircraft. We have not confirmed whether the Blue listing is Cleared or Select. Thermal payload puts it squarely inside the proposed military grade marketing ban if that rule is adopted as drafted.
The FCC authorization attaches to the model and stands, so these remain lawful to import, market and sell. The real constraints are elsewhere: CBP has detained DJI shipments under the forced labor presumption since October 2024, and PS Docket 26-189 proposes ending import and marketing for foreign aircraft carrying thermal or LiDAR sensors 180 days after any final rule. The Mini 5 Pro, Air 3S and Neo 2 are named in reporting as exposed to the LiDAR prong.
Authorized before the cutoff, so the model stays lawful to import and sell. These are thermal aircraft, so they sit inside the proposed military grade marketing ban and carry the 100 percent tariff tier in force since 3 September 2026. Autel exited consumer in July 2025.
The most active non-DJI consumer camera drone line we found still sellable in the US. Publishes a real wholesale channel. Note that the newer Atom 3 is blocked and cannot be sold here.
Self-flying camera line, still sellable from authorized stock. The newer Aqua and VERSA are blocked. The VERSA episode is worth reading: an authorization briefly appeared in the FCC database, the FCC confirmed it had been granted in error, set it aside, and ordered a stop, after a crowdfunding campaign had already taken money.
Launched eighteen days before the cutoff and got authorized in time. Our pick of the non-DJI prosumer aircraft still lawfully sellable here.
The maker says it is pursuing FCC certification. We found no US authorization for this model, and no foreign UAS approved through that route since the cutoff.
Aqua launched in more than fifty countries in May 2026 with the US excluded. VERSA had an authorization set aside by the FCC as erroneously granted.
Do not touch this inventory. The entire line was discontinued in February 2026, the Texas Attorney General sued the company days later over alleged concealed Chinese ties, and August 2026 reporting indicates the FCC is preparing to ban the aircraft over the DJI licensing arrangement.
The cautionary precedent. Authorizations granted in April 2026 were revoked outright in August after the named Texas assembler denied any relationship and RF testing turned out to have been done in Shenzhen. This is why we ask for a factory address, a verifiable contract assembler, and the location of RF testing before we quote anything.
The honest answer to the question everyone asks first. We could not find an affordable non-Chinese consumer drone. Every aircraft we found in that segment on the compiled date is Chinese. Skydio left consumer in 2023, Parrot left it entirely, Autel left it in July 2025, and we have not found a replacement. The American production on this board starts an order of magnitude above the Chinese consumer tier, and higher again once you want a flying camera that works. If someone tells you otherwise, ask them for the model name.
Lawful to sell
is not the same as
lawful to fly.
The FAA does not license drone retailers. It does decide whether the thing we sold can legally leave the ground, which is what the customer actually wanted. Before we quote a model we check it against the FAA list of accepted Remote ID declarations of compliance. We have not run that check across the whole board yet, so read a row here as the import and sale answer, not as the Remote ID answer.
Remote ID is not optional
Almost everything sold has to be a standard Remote ID aircraft under 14 CFR Part 89, or fly with an approved broadcast module. If an aircraft over 250 grams is not on the FAA list of accepted declarations of compliance, the buyer cannot lawfully fly it outside a recognized identification area. We check that before listing, not after.
The 250 gram line is measured with the battery in
Buyers assume a 249 gram airframe escapes registration. It does not, because the threshold applies to takeoff weight. A popular sub-250 model can weigh closer to 290 grams ready to fly, which puts it into registration and Remote ID.
Commercial flying registers everything
The sub-250 gram registration exemption is a recreational exemption. Anyone flying under Part 107 registers every aircraft regardless of weight.
Beyond visual line of sight is still a waiver
The proposed Part 108 rule has not been finalized. Long range operations still run on Part 107 waivers today, which shapes what an enterprise buyer can actually do with an aircraft after they buy it.
FCC Public Notice DA 25-1086, 22 December 2025
All foreign-produced uncrewed aircraft systems, and a defined list of UAS critical components including flight controllers, data links, ground control stations, cameras, batteries and motors, were added to the FCC Covered List. No foreign-produced UAS can receive a new equipment authorization. Models authorized on or before that date remain lawful to import, sell and use.
All products above belong to their makers. We are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or an authorized dealer for any of them unless a separate agreement says so in writing. Nothing here is legal advice. Two dates sit on this board and they mean different things: the per-aircraft records were assembled on the compiled date, and the rule layer over them, meaning Covered List actions, docket status, the tariff schedule and Blue UAS movement, was last re-checked on the reviewed date. Regulatory status changes fast in this category, including by revocation of grants that were valid the week before. Confirm any FCC ID yourself in the official FCC equipment authorization search, and confirm Blue UAS status at the Defense Contract Management Agency listing, before you rely on either.
Need an aircraft
an agency can buy?
Tell us who the end user is and what they need to see from the air. We will quote from Blue UAS listed production and name which list the aircraft is on, or tell you we could not confirm it, state the duty separately, and put the compliance record in writing before you commit a budget line.