In brief
On December 22, 2025, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) added all foreign produced uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS or drones) and critical drone components to the FCC Covered List (“Covered List“), a designation that prohibits them from gaining FCC authorization on the ground that they pose an unacceptable risk to US national security or the security and safety of US persons. That rule could have effectively prohibited the sale in the US of foreign-manufactured drones or critical drone parts.
On January 7, 2026, however, the FCC modified the ban by exempting foreign UAS and critical UAS components that are already on the “Blue List” maintained by the Defense Contract Management Agency (DCMA), as well as components considered “domestic end products” under the Buy American Standard.
Please contact us for more information about the UAS ban and its exemptions.
Key takeaways
- Companies that sell UAS in the United States must promptly evaluate their supply chains to ensure that all products destined for the US market are either (a) fully domestically produced or (b) fall within one of the two exemptions to the Covered List
- The exemptions, created through a National Security Determination from the Department of War, underscore the administration’s efforts to promote domestic manufacturing and guard against the risk US adversaries can exploit technology sold in the US by introducing vulnerabilities.
- Regular communication with counsel is important to ensure compliance, identify and mitigate supply chain risks, and prevent potential enforcement actions.
In more detail
Drones have emerged as a major US national security concern. In a recent Executive Order, the President recognized that drones can be designed with backdoors and vulnerabilities that allow US adversaries to divert them to engage in covert activities. Also, the extensive deployment of drones in the Ukraine war highlights their varied kinetic military applications.
Last year, the White House convened an interagency body to review national security risks posed by foreign UAS products. On December 21, 2025, this body released a National Security Determination (“December Determination“) stating that foreign UAS products pose an unacceptable national security risk to the United States and called on the FCC to add such products to its Covered List. The FCC responded by issuing its new policy on December 22, 2025.
Inclusion on the Covered List prevents a product from receiving FCC equipment authorization, 47 C.F.R. § 2.903(a), which is a requirement for radio frequency devices to be marketed in or imported to the US, 47 C.F.R. § 2.803(b). Thus, the December Determination had the practical effect of preventing any new foreign UAS products from gaining approval to enter the US market. This sweeping ban was particularly significant because a large proportion of US commercial drones are manufactured overseas in whole or in part.
The December Determination stated that both the DoW and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) may issue supplementary National Security Determinations exempting UAS products. Shortly thereafter, on January 7, 2026, the DoW invoked this authority to issue a supplemental Declaration (“January Declaration“) creating two categories of exemptions to the ban.
The first category exempts UAS and critical components on the DCMA’s Blue UAS Cleared List of drones approved for use by DoW. Critical Components include “data transmission devices, communications systems, flight controllers, ground control stations and UAS controllers, navigation systems, sensors and cameras, batteries and battery management systems, and motors.”The second category exempts UAS and critical components that qualify as “domestic end products” under the Buy American Standard, which deems a product as domestic if the cost of its US-made components exceeds 60% of the total cost of all components. Both exemptions are set to expire on January 1, 2027. The FCC also released guidance for requesting a case-specific “Conditional Approval” for covered products that will be forwarded to DoW and DHS for review.
This development has implications beyond the drone ban:
- First, this marks the first time the Covered List has been used to ban an entire category of foreign-produced products, rather than targeting specific products from specific companies.
- Second, the White House’s creation of a body to review and restrict an entire category of products may be applied to other industries.
- Third, it signals that the US Government is expansively using regulatory tools to pursue its policy goals of expanding US manufacturing and mitigating foreign influence.
Companies that market products with capabilities that may implicate US national security concerns should stay informed about emerging regulatory developments. Baker McKenzie is uniquely positioned to assist clients in navigating this shifting environment by tracking potential policy changes, assessing and validating critical supply‑chain dependencies for compliance with legal and regulatory requirements, and implementing proactive strategies to minimize the risk and impact of enforcement actions.1
1 Ethan Primeaux assisted in drafting this alert.
