Over the past several weeks, there’s been significant discussion across the drone industry about the FCC’s proposed rule (Public Notice DA 26-758) regarding certain foreign-made drones. The proposed rule could restrict future import and sale of certain foreign-made drones the agency considers "military-grade" — a category that includes drones with thermal imaging, LiDAR, swarming capability, docking stations, chemical/aerosol dispensing, or a weight of 55 lbs or more. Ag spray drones can fall into this category due to both their chemical dispensing function and their weight.
Altus Ag breaks this down here.
What you need to know now:
- This is not a ban on operating current ag spray drones in the U.S. Drones already authorized and in use can continue to be operated.
- It's a proposal, not final law. There's a 30-day public comment period, a 180 day runway prior to implementation per the writing of the proposed rule, and in addition, any final ruling would still need to work through the FCC's process before taking effect — this is not an immediate change.
- Our policy team is actively preparing a public comment and setting up meetings in the coming weeks with the relevant contacts in D.C. to make sure Agri Spray Drones' position is represented.
- It is noted in this proposed rule that drones under “conditional approval” will be exempt. Our team is actively working on positioning our spray drone solution for the 2027 season to undergo the conditional approval process
The key takeaway for our customers → we're operating business as usual. We're in the heat of spray season, and our focus stays on what's immediately in front of us – taking care of our dealers and customers.
Behind the scenes, the team is tracking the rule's progress, coordinating on comment strategy, making sure our dealers and customers are enabled, and most importantly – ensuring our future model is primed and ready for conditional approval.
We’ve drafted an FAQ doc here that can be used for questions, etc. We'll update everyone as we know more.
