It's not over until it is over, but in a bit of good news for DJI users and resellers, the US Senate Armes Services Committee has released its version of the National Defence Authorization Act (NDAA) without the DJI ban.
That, at least, means the debate is still on.
You might recall that the lower house – the House of Representatives – passed a version of the same bill including provisions from a bill called the "Countering CCP Drones Act". If made law, that would, effectively, require the FCC to ban all new DJI products from the US (despite the title, it seems to include cameras).
That ban still has the potential to make America a backwater (as DJI head of policy Adam Walsh explained to us in an exclusive interview), with new tech only available in the rest of the world depending on whether the new Senate version eventually wins out.
The next stage is that this version, filed by Chairman Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) and Ranking Member Senator Roger Wicker (R-MS), (S. 4638) will go to the floor of the Senate to be voted on and, should it pass, that'll be 'The Senate Version' of the NDAA. You can see the text filed here, thanks to the Senate Armed Services' own site.
The bill does call for a report into the sharing of drone tech between China and Russia, and refers to networks but, in the military context, the word drone has a wide meaning. DJI is not specifically targeted in this text.
Both versions will need to be 'reconciled' – which is where the danger still lies for DJI. Will the ban be re-introduced from the House's version, discarded, or some form of new wording – compromise – created that we've not seen yet?
During this stage, a number of amendments with varying degrees of merit will likely be proposed, since the bill authorises $912 billion of spending – several are already on the books at the Library of Congress.
At this point, it almost goes without saying that DJI is the market leader, with most of the best camera drones in our guide, and has denied any allegations of the security risks that it is said to pose by some in America.
It is also true that there is a significant correlation between American drone companies which have struggled to keep up technically and the allegations against DJI – look at the statement made by Skydio CEO for comments highlighting a sense of Chinese threat.
If you're looking to buy the best beginner drone you can probably feel a bit safer buying DJI, but if you are worried do check our guide to the best non-DJI drone too.
