Over two days this week the Federal Communications Commission added two documents to the fight over its ban on foreign-made drones. Neither changes the rule, but both affect how the challenges from DJI and Autel get argued.

On Oct. 14, the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) released Public Notice DA 26-1106. It places letters from the U.S. Department of War to congressional committees into the record of docket ET 26-22, which covers DJI, and docket ET 26-23, which covers Autel. Only the redacted, unclassified cover pages are public. The classified letters were filed under seal. The bureau also wrote: "we did not rely upon these materials at the time of making any related additions to the Covered List."

The next day, Oct. 15, the bureau released Public Notice DA 26-1112, which dockets a letter from Sen. Rick Scott to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr backing the ban.

What exactly did the FCC file?

According to the notice, the letters came from Michael P. Cadenazzi of the Department of War's Industrial Base Policy office. They were sent to congressional committees under section 1709(b)(1)(B) of the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act. Section 1709 covers DJI and Autel equipment, which was added to the Covered List. The notice says the Department of War referenced these letters in its April 6, 2026 opposition filing in the two dockets, stating that they fulfilled its section 1709 duty to report to certain congressional committees. Putting them in the docket puts that referenced material on the formal record. (The notice spells the official's title "Assistant Security of War.")

DroneXL, which reviewed the filing, reports that the public material is eight identical three-paragraph letters. The second paragraph holds whatever case is made in public, and DroneXL says it repeats a sentence from the Dec. 21 interagency determination, published as Appendix B to the FCC's listing notice. The signature and header blocks are redacted. The public pages name DJI but describe no specific threat. Any detailed reasoning is in the classified annex, which was filed under seal.

The letters were also filed in the Autel docket even though, per DroneXL, they never name Autel. DroneXL credits Sean Hollister of The Verge with first noticing the filing.

Why would the FCC say it didn't rely on them?

The answer is in the timeline. The FCC added foreign-produced uncrewed aircraft systems and critical components, along with section 1709 equipment, to the Covered List on Dec. 22, 2025, according to the Commission's March 6, 2026 procedures order (DA 26-223). DroneXL reports that the Pentagon told the FCC in its April 6 memo that the report went to Congress on April 3, 2026, which is 102 days after the listing. Per DroneXL, the statute set Dec. 23, 2025 as the date for the national security determination and gave 30 days after that to report to Congress.

On those dates, the letters were sent months after the FCC acted, so the December listing could not have been based on them. The bureau's statement is consistent with that. It also limits what the letters can do in the reconsideration proceedings: they are now in the record, but the FCC says it did not rely on them when making the related additions to the Covered List.

What did Sen. Scott say?

Scott is the sponsor of the Countering CCP Drones and Supporting Drones for Law Enforcement Act, on which section 1709 was based. In his Oct. 14 letter to Carr, which the bureau placed in the records on Oct. 15, he says he agrees with the Administration's determinations that DJI and Autel present a national security threat and strongly supports adding their technologies to the Covered List. He cites classified briefings from the intelligence community and the Department of War, public hearings, meetings with industry representatives and analysis of public reporting.

The letter shows that the lawmaker who sponsored the underlying bill supports how the FCC applied it. It is a statement of support, and the bureau's notice does not describe it as new evidence the agency relied on.

Where do the DJI and Autel challenges stand?

Per DA 26-223, after the Dec. 22 action the FCC updated the list on Jan. 7, 2026. That followed a further determination from the Department of War to remove certain categories of drones and critical components until Jan. 1, 2027. On Jan. 21, 2026, DJI filed a petition for reconsideration and Autel filed an application for review. The procedures order set oppositions for April 6 and replies for May 11, 2026.

Both pleading deadlines have passed. The notices and the coverage we read announce no ruling on either challenge, so these new filings go into a record still waiting for a decision.

Does this ground anyone's drones?

No. As DroneDJ notes, the Covered List restricts new equipment authorizations. It does not automatically ground drones Americans already own. Nothing in either notice changes that. The Oct. 14 and 15 filings add to the record but do not change the Covered List status.

Why It Matters

The public case in these letters is thin, and this week's filings make that clear. The public record now holds eight cover pages that, per DroneXL, name DJI, repeat a sentence from the December determination and describe no specific threat. The classified annex is under seal, out of view of operators and the public.

The "did not rely" statement also matters for the reconsideration proceedings. Per DroneXL, the Pentagon's report to Congress came 102 days after the Dec. 22 listing, while the statute set a 30-day reporting window after the determination date. Whether that gap affects the outcome is for the Commission and possibly the courts to decide. Either way, the FCC has now said on the record that it did not rely on these letters when making the related Covered List additions.

Scott's letter adds political support from the sponsor of the underlying bill and refers to classified briefings from the intelligence community and the Department of War. For U.S. operators, public-safety agencies and dealers who rely on DJI and Autel hardware, the practical position has not changed this week: the Covered List does not automatically ground existing drones, new equipment authorizations remain restricted, and the reconsideration requests have no announced resolution.

Sources