- DJI is appealing its ban in the US
- The company says it could lose $1.5 billion this year
- 25 product launches are planned in 2026
At the end of last year, new DJI products were effectively banned in the US, meaning that devices like the DJI Osmo Pocket 4 cannot be found in the US. In a newly published lawsuit, we now have an idea of what the price will be for DJI – and its US-based fans.
DJI is busy appealing the ban in the U.S. courts (via DroneDJ), and in official filings, the Chinese tech giant claims that being shut out of the U.S. will cost it about $1.5 billion over the course of this year — about $700 million for regulatory payments for devices that never launched, and another $860 million for new products in 2026.
These new products are 25 in total, according to the filing (check page 7), and will include both drones and other types of gadgets (like vlogging cameras). This constitutes “immediate and serious harm” to DJI, the document says.
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And it’s not just DJI that’s missing out: DJI claims that businesses, energy companies and emergency personnel that rely on DJI kit will be adversely affected because they’ll be stuck on legacy hardware. That’s a violation of the Constitution and federal law, DJI claims in its appeal.
National security interests
The ban came about when DJI was put on the ‘Covered List’ by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in the US – a list of devices believed to be a threat to national security (Huawei is also on the list, for example).
Neither the FCC nor the US government has explained exactly what threat DJI poses to the safety of citizens, but once a deadline for a safety audit of DJI passed, that was it. There are believed to be concerns that a Chinese company has such deep access to US networks and such a widespread array of photo and video recording devices.
Regardless of political or safety concerns, since DJI regularly tops our list of the best drones on the market, it’s a shame that US customers will no longer be able to get their hands on these devices. The US Court of Appeals must now decide whether the challenge can go forward, which would give DJI more leeway to argue its case.
From DJI’s side, the proof is that significant losses are already occurring – and the decision should therefore be challenged at the earliest opportunity. In the meantime, we’re expecting another drone from DJI any day now.
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