Drone News: FCC Ban on Drones, FL Senator Challenges Appeals, MA Ban on Drone Delivery

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have 3 stories for you this week: the FCC is still thinking about a ban on thermal and spray drones, Florida Senator pushes back on DJI and Autel's appeals, and a Massachusetts town shuts the door on Amazon drone deliveries. Let's get to it.

First up, the FCC says a ban on certain foreign drones is still on the table, according to Adam Chan. the FCC's senior national security counsel. The information came out of The Drone Ultimatum podcast, published October 30th. The ban would cover imports and sales of previously approved foreign drones in military-grade categories. That includes thermal, LiDAR, spray, swarming and docking drones. It also includes anything 55 pounds or more.

Chan said a transition period is possible. But the FCC's July 21st notice already proposes one. It is 180 days after the order is published in the Federal Register. Blue UAS exceptions would remain. Of 443 filings on that window, 439 asked for more time. Drones you already own would NOT be affected.Chan also pointed to five to six billion dollars in new investment. The FCC's own fact sheet said over four billion. Spray drone sales fell 59 percent in 2025, according to the American Spray Drone Coalition. Chan obviously did not watch our video analyzing the comments on the FCC's proposal to do this.Next up, Senator Rick Scott is backing the government's case against DJI and Autel. He sent a letter to FCC Chairman Brendan Carr earlier this month. He wants both companies kept on the Covered List. The FCC has placed the letter in the record. It applies to DJI's petition for reconsideration and Autel's application for review. Scott, a known opponent of drones, sponsored the bill behind Section 1709 of the 2025 defense law. He says he read a classified report that finds both companies pose an unacceptable national security risk. Of course, that report is not public. But keep in mind that the risk is high enough that you can't know about it, yet low enough that current models are not a threat. Only banning future models will solve the issue.Meanwhile, DJI argues Congress did not review its technology thoroughly enough. Bottom line: this letter is not a new FCC ruling. It does not change anything for drones you already own. It adds political weight to a fight that is still playing out. The FCC has not decided either challenge.Finally, a Massachusetts town just said no to Amazon drone deliveries. Westborough residents voted 510 to 13 at a special town meeting. That is about 97.5 percent in favor. The new bylaw bars ground-level delivery drone infrastructure. That means launch pads, landing sites, staging hubs and residential drop zones. The fine is 300 dollars per violation.Residents cited noise, privacy concerns over navigation cameras, and the town's character. On November 1st, Amazon withdrew its site plan. It did so without prejudice. A spokesperson said the company plans to re-engage and submit a revised bid later. The bylaw still needs sign-off from the Massachusetts attorney general's office.And if you're wondering if this is legal. Notice how this is land use on the ground, not airspace. That's really the only way towns can prohibit drone activities. And of course, other communities will be watching. Going forward, delivery operators may find local approval is the harder hurdle.And as always, this conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronexl.co/2026/11/03/fcc-adam-chan-military-grade-drone-ban-transition-period/https://dronedj.com/2026/10/29/rick-scott-dji-drone-fcc/https://www.suasnews.com/2026/11/david-beats-goliath-westborough-decimates-amazon-drone-proposal-in-510-13-landslide-vote/