Why The U.S. Military Banned DJI Drones

In this video, I explore the history of the US DJI drone ban, given the FCC's December 2025 decision to ban foreign UAS and foreign UAS components. I review the early indicators of military operational risk associated with DJI products, referencing US Army and Navy memorandums from 2017, which highlight the system's cybersecurity and RF vulnerabilities.

Understanding the history of the DJI drone ban is crucial to understanding how the FCC and US Government ultimately arrived to their 2025 decision to ban all foreign UAS and critical UAS components.

This video is a multi-part series exploring the origins of the US DJI drone ban.

This installment focuses on the US military's initial findings and recommendations, which sparked scrutiny towards DJI products and helped pave the way towards the 2025 drone ban. Future videos in this series will explore further USG policies and findings against DJI, including the American Security Drone Act (S.2502).

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Video Chapters:
0:00 2025 US Ban on Foreign Drones
00:49 2017 Army Memo: Cease Use of DJI Drones
02:46 2017 Navy Memo Citing Operational Risks of DJI Drones
10:46 What Do You Think of the Memos?
11:00 Next Video: Homeland Security DJI Report
11:24 My Closing Remarks

Abel Acuña is an FAA-certified commercial drone pilot. Abel is a former tech-entrepreneur, former U.S. Intelligence Officer, and a graduate of Harvard University and The Hotchkiss School with a background in Visual Arts. Abel holds $2M in flight and risk insurance and operates under FAA License 4747275.

All news articles reference under Fair Use (17 U.S. Code § 107)

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