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--- transportation:drones [2025/12/23 03:06] – [China] timb
+++ transportation:drones [2026/01/11 20:19] (current) – [Zero Zero Robotics] timb
@@ Line 779: / Line 779: @@
 ====== China ======
+===== Ban =====
 == US Considers Potential Rules To Restrict or Bar Chinese Drones ==
@@ Line 807: / Line 809: @@
 https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/12/22/042225/the-us-could-ban-chinese-made-drones-used-by-police-departments
+== FCC Bans Foreign-Made Drones Over National Security, Spying Concerns ==
+Posted by BeauHD on Monday December 22, 2025 05:40PM
+The FCC has banned approval of new foreign-made drones and components, citing "an unacceptable risk" to national security. The move will most heavily impact DJI but it "does not affect drones or drone components that are currently sold in the United States." Reuters reports:
+<blockquote>
+The tech was placed on the commission's "Covered List," barring DJI and other foreign drone manufacturers from receiving the FCC's approval to sell new drone models for import or sale in the U.S. In Monday's announcement, the agency 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."
+FCC Chair Brendan Carr said in a statement that while drones offer the potential to boost public safety and the U.S.' posture on global innovation, "criminals, terrorists and hostile foreign actors have intensified their weaponization of these technologies, creating new and serious threats to our homeland."
+The ruling comes as China hawks in Congress amplify warnings about the security risks of drones made by DJI, which accounts for more than 90% of the global market share. But efforts to crack down on Capitol Hill have been met with some pushback due to the potential impacts of curbing the drone usage on U.S. businesses and law enforcement. A wide variety of sectors, including construction, energy, agriculture and mining companies, as well as local police and fire departments across the country, deploy DJI-made drones.
+</blockquote>
+https://news.slashdot.org/story/25/12/23/0036201/fcc-bans-foreign-made-drones-over-national-security-spying-concerns
+== The U.S. Has Officially Banned New, Foreign-Made Drone Models ==
+Merry Christmas, drone enthusiasts!
+Bruce Gil - December 23, 2025
+The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) announced on Monday that it is banning new foreign-made drones and drone components over national security concerns. The move could disrupt the drone industry as it aims to keep popular Chinese brands out of the U.S. market.
+The FCC said the ban follows a review that determined drones and drone parts made outside the U.S. pose “unacceptable risks to the national security of the United States and to the safety and security of U.S. persons.”
+As a result, foreign-made drones and components have been added to the FCC’s Covered List, which includes communications services and equipment that are prohibited in the U.S. over security risks.
+https://gizmodo.com/the-u-s-has-officially-banned-new-foreign-made-drone-models-2000702978
+== Trump administration’s ban on foreign-made drones starts this week — you can say goodbye to new DJI models ==
+Lucas Ropek - 1:16 PM PST December 23, 2025
+On Monday, the Trump administration’s Federal Communications Commission banned all new foreign-made drone models from distribution in the U.S., citing “national security concerns.” Americans who already own older foreign drone models will still be able to use those products, the government said.
+In a fact sheet published Monday, the FCC claimed that “criminals, hostile foreign actors, and terrorists” could use drones “to present new and serious threats to our homeland.” As a result, the agency said that it had updated its Covered List — which is a list of products that have been “deemed to pose an unacceptable risk to the national security” of the country — to include all “UAS and UAS critical components produced abroad.”
+The FCC’s chairman, Brendan Carr, said Monday that he approved of the policy. “I welcome this Executive Branch national security determination, and I am pleased that the FCC has now added foreign drones and related components, which pose an unacceptable national security risk, to the FCC’s Covered List,” Carr said. “Following President Trump’s leadership, the FCC will work closely with U.S. drone makers to unleash American drone dominance.”
+The new rule will obviously impact many different companies, but it is destined to strike a blow against Chinese drone maker DJI, which is currently considered the dominant player in drone sales globally. Indeed, DJI is considered to be one of the most popular drone brands for American consumers.
+https://techcrunch.com/2025/12/23/trump-administrations-ban-on-foreign-made-drones-starts-this-week-you-can-say-goodbye-to-new-dji-models/
@@ Line 1775: / Line 1824: @@
+===== Voltair =====
+== Self Charging Drones ==
+Voltair - Winter 2026
+Voltair builds drones that ‘perch’ like birds to recharge on power lines. For this first time, this allows for drones with infinite range. Removing battery swaps is the last step to deploy UAVs autonomously at scale. After building drones for the Air Force and DARPA, Ronan realized this was both practical and technically feasible.
+Power utilities are the perfect first customer. Drone inspections identify maintenance concerns before they cause faults. Faults cause power outages, and spark wildfires - like the Eaton Fire in early 2025 where 19 people lost their lives and nearly 10,000 structures were destroyed. Fires bankrupt utilities and make them uninsurable. Autonomous drones can deliver over 20x the inspection coverage for the same cost.
+Since June, we’ve validated our core charging tech on a power line, built 5x flying prototypes, and inspected ~2000 poles.
+After power companies, we will service rail, road, telecom, real estate and other inspection markets. Insurance and grid traders also want our data product. At scale we are a new infrastructure layer for data on the physical world.
+https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/voltair