Drone News: Spray Drones vs. FCC, DJI & Autel Records, Phantom 4 Support, MA Targets Drone Delivery

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, have four stories for you this week: the spray drone industry asks the FCC for a carve-out, the FCC adds Pentagon letters to the DJI and Autel records, DJI ends service for the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0, and a Massachusetts town votes to ban Amazon drone pads. Let's get to it.

First up, U.S. sales of new agricultural spray drones fell 59 percent between 2024 and 2025. The American Spray Drone Coalition says about 3,711 units sold in 2025, down from roughly 8,950 in 2024. The group blames the Customs and Border Protection's hold on DJI shipments that began in October 2024. These are industry estimates, not customs records. Even so, sprayed acreage rose almost 59 percent, to more than 16 million acres.Now the coalition wants a carve-out from the FCC. The FCC's July proposal would ban foreign "military-grade" drones. That includes any drone that can dispense "economic poison." That's the Part 137 definition of any crop sprayer. So it would cover every foreign spray drone.The coalition wants Part 137 drones excluded. It also wants two years of spare parts imports. As of October 21, the FCC hasn't adopted the proposal to classify spray drones and many others as "military grade". Next up, the FCC has added Department of War letters to its records on DJI and Autel. A public notice on October 14 covers both dockets. But here's the catch. The FCC says it did not rely on these letters when it added the companies to the Covered List.Only the redacted, unclassified cover pages are public. The classified letters were filed under seal. The public pages say the government worries foreign-controlled drone makers could harm Americans. They don't name any specific vulnerability or give any technical evidence.The FCC added foreign-produced drones to its Covered List on December 22, 2025. DJI filed a petition for reconsideration in January. Autel filed an application for review. DJI is also suing the FCC for its inclusion on the covered list, and the Department of Defense after being labeled a Chinese military company. Service support for the Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 is ending this month. The date is October 31st, 2026. After that, DJI says it will no longer offer product inquiries, technical support, or maintenance for the aircraft and its accessories.The Phantom 4 Pro V2.0 launched in May 2018. It has a 1-inch, 20-megapixel sensor, a mechanical shutter, and 4K video at 60 frames per second. That mechanical shutter is why some mapping and survey pilots still fly it.Finally, voters in Westborough, Massachusetts just took on Amazon. On October 19th, a Special Town Meeting passed a bylaw by 510 to 13. It bans any commercial drone launch pad, landing pad, or delivery drop zone in town.It was written in response to Amazon's plan to fly Prime Air MK30 drones from its warehouse at 64 Otis Street. The fine is $300 per offense. It takes effect only after the Massachusetts attorney general approves it, or lets 90 days pass. The motion also says MassDOT Aeronautics must approve it. The bylaw reportedly says it does not regulate flight, altitude, or flight paths. The question is whether a ban on landing sites conflicts with the ground end of a federally authorized operation under Part 135.Amazon faces more hurdles. A zoning appeal is set for November 2nd, and a Planning Board hearing is set for November 10th. And the 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/2026/10/21/spray-drone-sales-fell-59-percent-asdc-fcc-part-137-carve-out/https://dronedj.com/2026/10/15/fcc-dji-ban-pentagon-letters/https://dronedj.com/2026/10/12/phantom-4-drone-service-repair/https://dronexl.co/2026/10/20/westborough-510-13-drone-bylaw-bans-amazon-prime-air-launch-pads/