fcc_ecfs:FCC-2026-2971-0001:26110053409
Christopher H YarbroughOpposeIndividual
Summary: The commenter opposes the proposed ban on foreign-produced military-grade drones, arguing that the government has provided no evidence of security threats and that the ban unfairly manipulates the free market. They highlight that many industries rely on foreign drones (like DJI) for essential services such as search and rescue, agriculture, and cinematography, and warn that the broad definitions could harm safety and economic interests.
I write to you in opposition of the July 21 proposal PS Docket No. 26-189. The government has not shared any evidence that DJI or any other foreign drone manufacturers pose a threat to national security. They have not shown any evidence that american made drones are better or safer in any way. Many industries rely on foreign made drones as there are no acceptable american alternatives. There are currently NO american made drones that come close to competing with the quality available from DJI for photography, videography, cinematography, crop dusting, search and rescue, etc. The american manufacturers cannot win a market share by making an acceptable product, so they turn to lobbying the government to get rid of the competition. This is the federal government manipulating the free market by banning competition. Additionally, the categories chosen in the recent proposal to define a drone as "military grade" are so broad that it is hard to find any drone used by working part 107 pilots that would not fall into at least one of these categories. Most professional and many consumer drones use lidar for obstacle avoidance. Thermal imaging is an incredibly important tool in the inspection industry as well as for search and rescue. Banning the import, use, sale, etc of all foreign thermal imaging drones will directly result in loss of lives that could have been prevented. Many farmers are turning to drones for spraying crops, banning the drones used by those companies will result in a loss of american crops and jobs for farmers and the people who support them. If you want to "take action to Secure the Drone Supply Chain" do so by encouraging american companies to innovate and compete with the other drones in quality, performance, and pricing. Don't do it by banning the competition.