The DJI drone dynasty officially ended in America last week.

The era of cheap, dominant Chinese air superiority in the U.S. is over. As of December 23, 2025, the FCC has officially placed DJI on its "Covered List," effectively blocking all new models from entering the country. This isn't just a regulatory hiccup; it is a $200 million logistical nightmare for the state of Florida alone, which now has to figure out how to replace thousands of police drones that are legally grounded or rapidly becoming obsolete. The U.S. government has decided that "Made in China" is a national security threat, and American businesses are about to pay a massive premium for patriotism.

The Great Grounding

The mechanism of this ban is a lethal one-two punch. First, the FCC order prevents any new DJI device from receiving radio frequency authorization, meaning the upcoming Mavic 4 or Mini 5 will never legally be sold in the U.S. Second, Customs and Border Protection (CBP) is seizing imports of existing models under the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act, creating a total supply chain chokehold.

For the last decade, DJI achieved a monopoly by being better and cheaper than everyone else, securing roughly 90% of the U.S. commercial drone market. "We remain committed to our U.S. customers and are actively exploring paths forward," a DJI spokesperson stated following the ruling, but the writing is on the wall. The company is fighting a war against the U.S. Department of Defense, and they are losing.

The "Blue Tax" on Professionals

The immediate fallout is financial shock. Public safety agencies, real estate firms, and agricultural inspectors are facing a "fleet cliff." They can keep flying the drones they own, but once those batteries die or a prop breaks, there is no replacement coming.

The alternatives, known as "Blue UAS" (government-approved drones), come with severe sticker shock. A standard DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise costs roughly $5,500. A comparable American-made equivalent like the Skydio X10 or a system from Parrot can cost three to five times that amount.

Police departments are hit hardest. In Florida, where legislation has been particularly aggressive, the estimated cost to swap out Chinese fleets is $200 million. Smaller departments simply cannot afford the upgrade. They are trading high-tech eyes in the sky for nothing, effectively going blind in search-and-rescue operations because the American replacements are too expensive to buy in bulk.

The Malaysian Loophole: Enter Anzu

Capitalism abhors a vacuum, and a strange loophole has emerged in the form of Anzu Robotics. This Texas-based company has managed to license DJI's hardware technology but manufactures the drones in Malaysia.

The Anzu Raptor is virtually identical to a DJI Mavic 3, but it runs software developed by a U.S. company (Aloft) and stores data on U.S. servers. Because of this supply chain shell game, Anzu drones are not subject to the same bans. They cost about $1,500 more than the original DJI models, but for enterprise users desperate for reliable hardware that won't get seized at customs, it is currently the only viable lifeboat.

The next six months will see a "black market" for DJI parts explode. Expect authorized repair centers to run out of stock by March 2026, forcing professionals to hoard batteries like gold bars. While U.S. manufacturers like Skydio and Brinc will see record sales, they lack the manufacturing capacity to fill the 90% void DJI leaves behind. The sky is about to get a lot quieter, and a lot more expensive.