HN Reader

Seeing how drone warfare has become the new hot front in 21st century conflicts like Ukraine, it's hard not to speculate on the implications of this as political unrest continues to rise in the U.S.

It's no secret that the current U.S. regime views a sizeable portion of its own civilian citizens as enemy combatants. They are already shooting people in the face and not even putting up a pretense of acting shocked at the act. Historically, it is easier to win elections than revolutions; limiting access to game-changing technology puts the power advantage even more firmly in the corner of the regime.

They're gonna TACO this.

It's too fast with no viable replacement path in sight.

Classic trump administration. Do something splashy, then when the media hype dies there is a giant void and no plan whatsoever

Not surprising. Asymmetrically-powerful personal technology is a threat to the State's monopoly of force and power. Same reason for US juristictions banning hardware "hacking" devices, firearms manufacturing, 3D printing - hell, even building and maintaining a PC is becoming untenable. The writing is on the wall for what is next.

I'm in favor of tighter regulation on drone imports, both for national security reasons and to try to jumpstart a US drone industry.

Not allowing _any_ foreign made components, however, is insane, as is not even auditing DJI when they didn't put up a fight. They have to know they're just killing the small drone industry completely.

It's this now, but 3D printers, Meshtastic, and the ESP32 all seem likely to catch the ire of the administration if some deal is not done in the coming years.

I've been saying it for ages, but a decent easily available western equivalent to the ESP32 (meaning easy WiFi) needs to happen, and until it does there will be a giant hole in the middle of the entire maker universe, which increasingly acts as the prototyping stage for commercialized gadgetry.

I think the US military itself relies on big, sophisticated and expensive UAVs. Is there any US-only supply-chain to build millions of cheap drones for military applications? I don't agree with the ban, but if it forces a domestic supply chain, even for civilian use, that might be more tenable. But last I looked, I couldn't find any US vendor that makes similar quality drones, even if they manufacture overseas.

Good.

Alternative headline: The US Government Banned All New Foreign Drones.

As every foreign-made drone is now on the FCC’s “Covered List.

So unless I'm reading this incorrectly, DJI can keep selling existing models forever in the US? The US just can't get updated versions of drones?

News next week : "Donald Trump Jr opens US Drone company with exclusive import license from China."

> DJI responded publicly that month that they had nothing to hide, and subsequently spent a year trying to convince the U.S. government to begin the audit. But no federal agency even began

There's your answer. There was never any concern over Americans data being sent to China.

Also they didn't "Follow through", they simply let the clock run out without even evaluating DJI's reponse to the claims.

That these are banned but Chinese made robot vacuums and other appliances are not points to this not being about protecting individual Americans and more about protecting national interests (drones can map out terrain in a lot more detail and are mobile outside of your bedroom, and can be trivially weaponized)

I wonder how much this is because the war in Ukraine showed that drone manufacturing capacity is a strategic asset?

I wonder how long until Canada gets pressured into doing the same, just like we always do?

A society in which ubiquitous, diversely-owned and operated, unlicensed drones watch the every move of police and criminals - even though that means they watch the every move of the rest of us as well - is a society in which I want to live.

The outcome of who can lawfully create and deploy eyes in the sky is the ultimate decider of the matter of who watches the watchers.

The stakes are significant.

"And with no American-made drones comparable to the category leaders, it’ll be a while before any company steps up to offer one."

The problem is that it would be extremely risky for a US company to spin up a comparable US built drone. Even if they can match the price/quality point, at any given time the government could remove the ban, killing the entire business model.

See also perhaps from November 2024 (post-election), "Drone company's stock soars after it appoints Donald Trump Jr. to advisory board":

* https://www.nbcnews.com/business/business-news/drone-company...

* https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2024/nov/27/donald-trump...

Also, from 2025:

> In October, Popular Information reported that the Pentagon awarded a contract to Unusual Machines, an obscure drone company that President Trump’s son, Donald Trump Jr., joined as an advisor in November 2024, despite having no notable experience with drones or military contracting.

[…]

> Now, another small startup funded by 1789 Capital, a venture capital firm where Trump Jr. is a partner, will receive a $620 million loan from the Defense Department, the Financial Times reported. Vulcan Elements, which currently has around 30 employees, produces rare-earth magnets, which can be used in “drones, radar systems and other military applications.” The contract was awarded just three months after 1789 invested in Vulcan.

* https://popular.info/p/update-trump-jr-backed-startup-receiv...

It’s really not quite like that. https://youtu.be/Dyr87--SDuc?si=EPmTEPQfFtaWV2tt

The impact is more for bind and fly drones that are FCC approved so you don’t need a HAM license to operate them.

To me it also looks like there are also loopholes you could drive a truck through in terms of importing partially assembled drones that can be assembled by the end user as well as approving components by making their use not exclusive to UAS.

What actually happens remains to be seen because it really depends on what the enforcement actually looks like and how well work arounds work.

I think the real goal of the regulators is to ensure an onshore supply chain for government use and there won’t be a focus on civilian usage.

This ban has more to do with how much geodetic data is being transmitted to China and less to do with the actual drone technology. People flying DJI drones are mapping the US on China's behalf, and that too with great fidelity.

Hard to ignore the parallel with other tech bans: vague data-risk claims, no public evidence, no transparent threat model, and zero nuance between consumer toys and critical infrastructure. If this logic were applied consistently, half of consumer electronics would be in trouble

Ok national defense sure but how about Trump Jr has to divest from drone companies first?

Reading through the notice from the FCC, it sure feels like they've also banned a lot of the critical components that go into line of sight RC airplanes. It really sucks, I kind of wonder if this won't crush the hobby and cause a lot vendors like Horizon or Hobby King to go under if they can't bring in planes or parts. Maybe they think someone is going to do a terrorism with their foamie Crack Yak or Turbo Timber..

So you can’t even build your own DIY drone?

Okay I'm gonna build drones on my homestead then

How does this interact with this[1] recent decision? Maybe I'm stupid but I don't think the article really explains the US Commerce Dept. decision outcome when the FCC ban is still in effect.

[1]: https://www.reuters.com/world/china/us-commerce-department-d...

I'm sure the fact that Donald J. Trump Jr. is heavily involved in a drone and drone motor company named Unusual Machines has nothing to do with this.