The Federal Communications Commission recently blacklisted all new foreign-made drones and components due to concerns that the foreign equipment is an unacceptable risk to U.S. national security. Politico said the technology is on the Commission’s “Covered List,” barring foreign drone manufacturers from receiving the FCC’s approval to sell new drone models for import or sale into the U.S.
In the announcement, the FCC said that the move “will reduce the risk of direct drone attacks and disruptions, unauthorized surveillance, sensitive data exfiltration and other drone threats to the homeland.’”
Agri-Pulse said the ban’s timing hurts as many farmers are financially struggling because of high production costs, which makes the precise application of crop protection products and fertilizers especially important. Such precision agriculture applications are increasingly accomplished through the use of drones.
“Foreign-manufactured drones represent a significant majority of the agricultural drone market, and sudden restrictions on their use without sufficient domestic alternatives would add new financial burdens on already over-stressed farmers,” the American Soybean Association said in a statement.
The FCC said the ban won’t ground the thousands of already deployed unmanned aircraft in the U.S. The FCC said Monday that the decision does not affect drones or drone components that are currently sold in the United States.
