DJI Statistics 2026
By Axis Intelligence Research
Co-author: Liam Michael | Last updated: October 25, 2026 | License: CC BY 4.0
Axis Intelligence Research’s DJI U.S. Restriction Stack Index (DRSI) reads 69 out of 100 across DJI’s five main product lines as of October 25, 2026, the baseline reading. Enterprise thermal drones, docking stations and Agras spray drones score 80, consumer drones 55 and Osmo handheld cameras 50, after ten federal actions in 306 days.
Quick Answer
DJI can no longer get new products authorized for the U.S. market: the FCC added foreign-produced drones and the equipment of Section 1709 entities, DJI among them, to its Covered List on December 22, 2025. Already-authorized DJI drones remain legal to own and fly, and firmware updates are permitted until January 1, 2029 under FCC waiver DA 26-454. A Section 232 tariff of 25% (consumer drones) to 100% (thermal drones, docks, aircraft over 25 kg) has applied since September 3, 2026. Axis Intelligence Research estimates the $1.56 billion 2026 U.S. loss DJI claimed in court equals roughly 13.5% of its reported annual revenue.
Key Findings
- Axis Intelligence Research finds that ten federal actions restricting or conditioning DJI’s U.S. market access were issued between December 22, 2025 and October 24, 2026, one every 30.6 days on average.
- Axis Intelligence Research’s DRSI scores DJI enterprise thermal drones, Dock-series docking stations and Agras agricultural drones at 80/100, against 55/100 for consumer drones, as of October 25, 2026.
- Axis Intelligence Research estimates that DJI’s claimed $1.56 billion 2026 U.S. loss equals about 13.5% of the roughly RMB 80 billion annual revenue reported by Chinese business press, which DJI has never audited publicly.
- DJI Agriculture reports more than 600,000 DJI agricultural drones in use worldwide at the end of 2025, flown by more than 600,000 trained operators in over 100 countries, per its fifth industry report (April 2026).
- Axis Intelligence Research finds that U.S. owners of DJI drones have 799 days of permitted firmware updates left as of October 25, 2026, before the FCC waiver in DA 26-454 expires on January 1, 2029.
Is DJI Banned in the US in 2026?
No, owning and flying a DJI drone is not banned. What is blocked is the pipeline of new DJI products. On December 22, 2025, the Federal Communications Commission placed uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and UAS critical components produced abroad, along with the communications and video-surveillance equipment of entities named in Section 1709 of the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), on its Covered List (FCC Public Notice DA 25-1086). The Covered List is the FCC’s register of equipment judged an unacceptable national-security risk; listed equipment cannot receive a new FCC equipment authorization, which every radio-emitting product needs before it can be imported or sold in the United States.
The FCC then tightened the rules around that list. Report and Order FCC 26-50, adopted July 22, 2026, tightened equipment-authorization rules for Covered List entities, including a definition of covered digital equipment that reaches logic-bearing components, and took effect on October 13, 2026 (FCC 26-50). As of October 25, 2026, 307 days have passed since DJI’s Covered List entry, an Axis Intelligence Research count.
DJI U.S. regulatory timeline, December 2025 to October 2026
| Date | Action | What it does to DJI | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2025-12-22 | Covered List addition | Bars new FCC authorizations for DJI drones and Section 1709 equipment | FCC DA 25-1086 |
| 2026-01-07 | Blue UAS / Buy American exemption | Exempts qualifying drones until Jan 1, 2027; DJI does not qualify | FCC DA 26-22 |
| 2026-01-21 | Firmware waiver | Permits updates to covered drones until Jan 1, 2027 | FCC DA 26-69 |
| 2026-03-06 | Reconsideration pleading cycle | Opens ET Docket 26-22 on DJI’s Jan 21 petition | FCC DA 26-223 |
| 2026-05-08 | Firmware waiver extended | Updates permitted until Jan 1, 2029 | FCC DA 26-454 |
| 2026-06-10 | Section 1260H list | DJI redesignated a “Chinese military company” | 91 FR 35189 |
| 2026-06-15 | Toy-drone exemption | Exempts toys of 150 g or less, excluding Section 1709 makers | FCC DA 26-588 |
| 2026-07-17 | Import and marketing ban proposal | Targets 9 other entities and 21 FCC IDs | FCC DA 26-742 |
| 2026-07-21 | “Military-grade” proposal | Seven drone categories face a 180-day cease proposal | FCC DA 26-758 |
| 2026-07-22 | Equipment authorization order | Effective Oct 13, 2026 | FCC 26-50 |
| 2026-08-13 | Section 232 proclamation | 25% to 100% tariffs from Sept 3, 2026 | White House |
| 2026-10-14 | Department of War letters placed in the record (procedural, not counted) | Section 1709 report letters added to ET Dockets 26-22 and 26-23; classified letters under seal | FCC DA 26-1106 |
Liam Michael’s read. Count the paperwork, not the headlines. Ten actions in ten months is a cadence you’d expect from a product launch calendar, and that is roughly what it is: each one closes a door the previous one left ajar. The Covered List stopped new airframes; the toy-drone carve-out explicitly excluded Section 1709 makers; FCC 26-50 went after the components a workaround would have used. The pattern says the regulator is designing against substitution, so anyone planning a fleet around “DJI under another label” should read DA 26-742 before signing a purchase order.
The record behind DJI’s challenge is still growing. On October 14, 2026, the FCC’s Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau placed into ET Dockets 26-22 (DJI) and 26-23 (Autel) the letters the Department of War sent to congressional committees under Section 1709(b)(1)(B) of the FY2025 NDAA: unclassified, redacted cover pages publicly, the classified letters under seal (FCC DA 26-1106). The Bureau states it “did not rely upon these materials” when it made the related Covered List additions, so DJI’s argument that the listing was made before the required national-security review must still be answered on the existing record.
Can You Still Buy a DJI Drone in the US?
Only units already authorized and already in the channel. The FCC’s 2026 orders stop new DJI models from obtaining equipment authorization; they do not recall drones already sold. DJI’s own court filing in the Ninth Circuit (Case 26-1029, April 15, 2026), as reported by DroneXL, says 14 previously authorized products were set aside, five drones and nine non-drone products, and 25 launches planned for 2026 cannot reach the U.S. market.
DJI’s claimed U.S. losses for 2026
| Item | Count | Claimed loss | Axis per-unit figure | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Authorized products set aside | 14 (5 UAS, 9 non-UAS) | $700 million | $50.0 million per product | DJI filing, Case 26-1029, via DroneXL |
| Planned 2026 launches blocked | 25 | $860 million | $34.4 million per launch | DJI filing, Case 26-1029, via DroneXL |
| Total | 39 | $1.56 billion | — | DJI filing, via DroneXL |
These are company-reported projections from a party seeking relief in litigation, which gives DJI every reason to size them generously. The per-unit figures are Axis Intelligence Research divisions ($700,000,000 ÷ 14; $860,000,000 ÷ 25) and are only as good as DJI’s inputs.
How Much Are the DJI Tariffs in 2026?
A Section 232 national-security tariff on drones took effect on September 3, 2026, under a presidential proclamation signed August 13, 2026 (White House proclamation). Section 232 of the Trade Expansion Act of 1962 lets the President restrict imports that threaten national security. The rate depends on what the aircraft is, not who builds it.
| Product class | Section 232 rate | Duty per $1,000 customs value (Axis calculation) | Effective | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| UAS with maximum takeoff weight (MTOW) of 25 kg or less | 25% | $250 | 2026-09-03 | White House proclamation |
| UAS over 25 kg MTOW | 100% | $1,000 | 2026-09-03 | White House proclamation |
| UAS with thermal imaging | 100% | $1,000 | 2026-09-03 | White House proclamation |
| Docking stations | 100% | $1,000 | 2026-09-03 | White House proclamation |
| Annex III components | 25% | $250 | 2027-02-09 | White House proclamation |
| Imports from the EU, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Switzerland, Liechtenstein | capped at 15% | up to $150 | 2026-09-03 | White House proclamation |
| Imports from the United Kingdom | capped at 10% | up to $100 | 2026-09-03 | White House proclamation |
The proclamation delays application for Blue UAS-listed products by 180 days. For DJI, the split matters more than the headline: a Mavic-class consumer drone carries the 25% rate, while the Matrice thermal payloads and Dock systems that public-safety and utility buyers rely on sit in the 100% bracket. Section 232 duties stack on top of other duties; for the wider country-by-country picture, see our tariff rates by country dataset, and for the small-parcel channel, our de minimis threshold tracker.
What Is the DJI U.S. Restriction Stack Index (DRSI)?
The DJI U.S. Restriction Stack Index (DRSI) is an Axis Intelligence Research score from 0 to 100 that measures how many separate federal restrictions bear on each DJI product line in the United States, and how severely. It exists because the “is DJI banned” question has no single answer: a farmer with an Agras T100 and a vlogger with an Osmo camera face different stacks.
DRSI sums five layers, each worth up to 20 points (layer severity of 0, 0.25, 0.5 or 1, multiplied by 20):
| Layer | What it measures | Scoring rule | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| L1 New-authorization block | Can new models get FCC authorization? | 1 if blocked | FCC 26-50, DA 25-1086 |
| L2 Section 232 tariff | Import duty burden | rate ÷ 100 | White House proclamation |
| L3 “Military-grade” proposal | Exposure to the proposed DA 26-758 cease order | 0.5 if in a named category (pending) | FCC DA 26-758 |
| L4 1260H designation | Federal contracting exclusion | 1 if listed | 91 FR 35189 |
| L5 Firmware dependency | Updates allowed only under a time-limited waiver | 0.5 while waiver runs | FCC DA 26-454 |
DRSI scores by DJI product line, October 25, 2026 (baseline reading)
| DJI product line | L1 | L2 | L3 | L4 | L5 | DRSI (of 100) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Enterprise thermal drones (Matrice thermal) | 20 | 20 | 10 | 20 | 10 | 80 |
| Docking stations (Dock series) | 20 | 20 | 10 | 20 | 10 | 80 |
| Agricultural drones (Agras) | 20 | 20 | 10 | 20 | 10 | 80 |
| Consumer drones (Mini, Air, Mavic) | 20 | 5 | 0 | 20 | 10 | 55 |
| Handheld cameras (Osmo) | 20 | 0 | 0 | 20 | 10 | 50 |
| Mean | 69 |
Source: Axis Intelligence Research calculation from the primary documents listed per layer. Agras aircraft score 1.0 on L2 because their MTOW exceeds 25 kg, and 0.5 on L3 because DA 26-758 names economic-poison dispensing drones.
Liam Michael’s read. The installed base tells you where this bites. Consumer drones score lowest because hobbyists can absorb a 25% duty and keep flying what they own. The 80s are the working fleets: spray rigs, dock-in-a-box inspection systems and thermal payloads for fire departments, which is exactly where DJI’s U.S. revenue per unit is highest and where substitutes are thinnest. Two things would move the index. A final DA 26-758 order would push the three 80s to 90. A successful reconsideration petition in ET Docket 26-22 would knock 20 points off every line at once, which is why that docket matters more than any tariff headline.
Will My DJI Drone Stop Getting Firmware Updates?
Not before January 1, 2029, under current FCC orders. The Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau first allowed software and firmware updates to covered drones until January 1, 2027 (DA 26-69), then extended that waiver to January 1, 2029 (DA 26-454). As of October 25, 2026, that leaves 799 days, by Axis Intelligence Research’s count.
Firmware is not cosmetic for DJI fleets. Geofencing databases, Remote ID compliance and battery management all ship through updates, so an operator whose aircraft cannot be updated after 2028 is running a fleet with a hard service horizon. For a drone bought today, that horizon is shorter than a typical enterprise depreciation schedule.
How Many DJI Agricultural Drones Are in Use?
DJI Agriculture reports more than 600,000 DJI agricultural drones in use worldwide at the end of 2025, per its fifth agricultural drone industry report published April 29, 2026 (DJI announcement). Those are company-reported figures.
| Metric (end of 2025) | Value | Source |
|---|---|---|
| DJI agricultural drones in use | 600,000+ | DJI Agriculture |
| Trained operators | 600,000+ | DJI Agriculture |
| Countries and regions | 100+ | DJI Agriculture |
| Crop types treated | 300 | DJI Agriculture |
| Service centers | 3,500 | DJI Agriculture |
| Instructors | 7,000+ | DJI Agriculture |
| Water saved, cumulative | about 410 million t | DJI Agriculture |
| CO2 emissions reduced, cumulative | 51 million t | DJI Agriculture |
| Herbicide reduction | up to 35% | DJI Agriculture |
| Water saved per drone in use (Axis calculation) | about 683 t | 410M ÷ 600,000 |
| CO2 reduced per drone in use (Axis calculation) | about 85 t | 51M ÷ 600,000 |
The per-drone ratios are upper-bound Axis Intelligence Research figures: DJI states the fleet as “more than” 600,000 while the savings are cumulative since launch, so the true per-unit number is lower.
On July 1, 2026, DJI launched the Agras T55 (50-liter spray tank, 55 kg spreading capacity) and the Agras T100 (90-liter spray tank, 150-liter spreading tank, 80 kg lift) (DJI launch). Neither can receive a U.S. authorization under the Covered List.
Liam Michael’s read. Six hundred thousand units in the field is a purchase-order number, not a demo number, and it is the single best piece of evidence for how deep DJI’s installed base runs. It also explains the U.S. agricultural lobby’s position in the reconsideration docket: spray-drone operators aren’t choosing DJI over a domestic equivalent at the same payload, they’re choosing it over a tractor. Show me a U.S.-made 80 kg-lift sprayer shipping in volume and I’ll revise the substitution risk.
How Much Revenue Does DJI Make?
DJI is privately held and does not publish audited financial statements, so every revenue figure is a press report of unaudited numbers. Chinese business outlet 36Kr reported in August 2025 that DJI’s 2024 revenue exceeded RMB 80 billion, up 35%, with net profit of RMB 12.056 billion. KrASIA, republishing 36Kr reporting in April 2026, wrote that 2025 revenue was rumored to approach RMB 80 billion (about USD 11.6 billion at 6.92 yuan per dollar) and that an internal letter targets more than RMB 100 billion in 2026.
Axis reconciliation: two years, one number
| Year | Reported revenue | Reporting outlet | Status |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | > RMB 80 billion (+35%) | 36Kr, Aug 15, 2025 | Unaudited, press |
| 2025 | approaching RMB 80 billion | KrASIA / 36Kr, Apr 1, 2026 | Unaudited, rumor |
| 2026 | > RMB 100 billion (target) | KrASIA / 36Kr, Apr 1, 2026 | Internal target |
The same ~RMB 80 billion figure is attributed to two different fiscal years by the same reporting family. Either 2025 revenue was flat on 2024 after a reported 35% rise, or one report mislabels the year. Axis Intelligence Research treats RMB 80 billion as an order-of-magnitude annual revenue and does not publish a growth rate for 2025.
On that basis, Axis Intelligence Research estimates DJI’s claimed $1.56 billion 2026 U.S. loss equals about 13.5% of annual revenue ($1.56 billion ÷ (RMB 80 billion ÷ 6.92) = $1.56 billion ÷ $11.56 billion). That ratio inherits both DJI’s litigation incentive and the press figure’s uncertainty, which is why it is labeled an estimate.
What Is DJI’s Market Share?
The most recent market-share figure in a primary U.S. legal record comes from a court opinion, not a market-research firm. The D.C. Circuit’s August 14, 2026 opinion in DJI’s 1260H case quotes Special Competitive Studies Project testimony from February 6, 2025 that “DJI holds 90% of the global consumer market and nearly 70% of the drone sector writ-large” (D.C. Circuit opinion, No. 25-5367). That is congressional testimony repeated by a court, not a measured share, and it predates the 2026 restrictions.
In U.S. public safety, DJI states that more than 80% of the 1,800+ law-enforcement agencies that use drones rely on its aircraft (DJI security assessment release), a company-reported figure. For U.S. fleet registrations and detection data across all manufacturers, see our drone statistics page, which owns the cross-brand market figures on this site.
What Did the D.C. Circuit Decide About DJI’s Chinese Military Company Label?
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the D.C. Circuit affirmed in part and reversed in part on August 14, 2026, in DJI v. Department of Defense (No. 25-5367), returning to the district court the question of whether DJI “contributes” to China’s military-industrial development, with review of the classified record (opinion). Section 1260H of the FY2021 NDAA requires the Pentagon to publish a list of “Chinese military companies” operating in the United States; listed firms are barred from Defense Department contracting.
The designation stands for now. The Department of War republished DJI on its 1260H list on June 10, 2026, along with its subsidiary Shenzhen Dajiang Baiwang Technology (91 FR 35189). For the defense-procurement side of the drone market, see our military drone statistics and counter-drone statistics.
Are DJI Drones a Security Risk?
The independent evidence published in 2026 is a DJI-commissioned audit, which should be weighed accordingly. Security firm OnDefend tested the DJI Air 3S and Matrice 4E between October 2025 and March 2026 and reported zero critical, high or medium findings, 10 low-severity findings and 13 observations, per DJI’s May 28, 2026 announcement (DJI release).
The U.S. restrictions do not rest on a demonstrated exploit; they rest on national-security determinations about the manufacturer’s jurisdiction and links to the Chinese state. A clean technical audit answers the second question only indirectly, which is why it has not moved any of the FCC dockets.
Which DJI Products Are Affected by the “Military-Grade” Drone Proposal?
FCC Public Notice DA 26-758 (July 21, 2026, PS Docket 26-189) proposes a 180-day cease order on imports and marketing for seven categories of drones regardless of maker: aircraft of 55 pounds or more, economic-poison (pesticide) dispensing drones, thermal-imaging drones, LiDAR-equipped drones, docking stations, drones that are defense articles, and swarming or light-show systems (DA 26-758). For DJI, that maps directly onto Agras, Matrice thermal and LiDAR payloads, and the Dock series.
The proposal is pending. A final order would add the third layer of the DRSI to those three lines at full weight. DJI’s October 13, 2026 Dock 4 launch, with a 25-second battery swap and a Matrice 5TD rated for 59 minutes of flight (DJI Dock 4 release), sits squarely in a category the FCC proposes to shut.
Methodology
Axis Intelligence Research built this dataset from documents fetched and read through October 24, 2026. Federal facts come from FCC public notices and orders (docs.fcc.gov), the August 13, 2026 Section 232 proclamation (whitehouse.gov), the June 10, 2026 Federal Register notice (govinfo.gov) and the D.C. Circuit opinion in No. 25-5367. DJI operating figures come from DJI’s newsroom and are labeled company-reported. Revenue figures come from 36Kr and KrASIA press reports and are labeled unaudited. The Ninth Circuit loss figures come from DroneXL’s reporting of DJI’s April 15, 2026 filing (Case 26-1029, DktEntry 21.1); the filing itself sits behind PACER.
Action count. Ten federal actions are counted: DA 25-1086, DA 26-22, DA 26-69, DA 26-454, the June 10 1260H list, DA 26-588, DA 26-742, DA 26-758, FCC 26-50 and the Section 232 proclamation. Procedural notices (DA 26-223, DA 26-1106) are excluded. Average interval = 306 days (Dec 22, 2025 to Oct 24, 2026) ÷ 10 = 30.6 days.
DRSI formula. DRSI = 20 × (L1 + L2 + L3 + L4 + L5), each layer scored 0, 0.25, 0.5 or 1 per the rules in the DRSI table. A pending proposal scores 0.5; a final rule in force scores 1. This is the baseline reading; future readings will be dated and published on this page, and any change to layers or weights will be stated with the reading.
Other Axis figures. Claimed loss share = $1,560,000,000 ÷ (80,000,000,000 ÷ 6.92). Per-drone savings = cumulative savings ÷ 600,000. Day counts use October 25, 2026 as the reference date.
The dataset does not measure DJI’s U.S. sales volume, which no public source reports, or channel inventory of already-authorized units.
About This Dataset
The DJI statistics dataset contains 136 rows covering U.S. federal actions (December 2025 to October 2026), Section 232 tariff rates, DJI’s court-filed loss claims, reported revenue, agricultural fleet metrics, Dock 4 specifications, a security audit and DRSI component scores. Every row carries its source organization, document, URL, retrieval date, a primary-source flag and, for Axis calculations, the formula.
Download: dji-statistics.csv · License: CC BY 4.0 · Cite as: Axis Intelligence Research, DJI Statistics 2026: Revenue, Fleet Size and the U.S. Ban by the Numbers, 2026.
How to Cite This Page
APA: Axis Intelligence Research, & Michael, L. (2026, October 25). DJI statistics 2026: Revenue, fleet size and the U.S. ban by the numbers. Axis Intelligence. https://axis-intelligence.com/dji-statistics/
MLA: Axis Intelligence Research, and Liam Michael. “DJI Statistics 2026: Revenue, Fleet Size and the U.S. Ban by the Numbers.” Axis Intelligence, 25 Oct. 2026, axis-intelligence.com/dji-statistics/.
Chicago: Axis Intelligence Research, and Liam Michael. “DJI Statistics 2026: Revenue, Fleet Size and the U.S. Ban by the Numbers.” Axis Intelligence, October 25, 2026. https://axis-intelligence.com/dji-statistics/.
Frequently Asked Questions About DJI
Is it illegal to fly a DJI drone in the US in 2026?
No. The FCC’s Covered List blocks new equipment authorizations, not the use of DJI drones already authorized and sold. Pilots still follow normal FAA rules, including Remote ID. The FCC has also allowed firmware updates to continue until January 1, 2029 under DA 26-454.
Can stores still sell DJI drones that were authorized before December 2025?
Generally yes, for models whose authorization was not set aside. DJI told the Ninth Circuit in April 2026 that 14 previously authorized products, five of them drones, had been set aside, as reported by DroneXL. Retail availability therefore depends on the specific model and remaining inventory.
Does the 25% drone tariff apply to DJI Osmo cameras?
No. The August 13, 2026 Section 232 proclamation covers uncrewed aircraft systems and listed components, not handheld gimbal cameras. Osmo products remain subject to the FCC authorization bar for new models, which is why they score 50 on the Axis Intelligence Research DRSI.
Why does a DJI Agras spray drone face a 100% tariff?
The proclamation applies 100% to drones with a maximum takeoff weight above 25 kg, and Agras aircraft are rated well above that. An Agras T100 alone is rated for an 80 kg payload, per DJI’s July 1, 2026 launch. Agras sprayers also fall into the “economic-poison dispensing” category of the FCC’s pending DA 26-758 proposal.
Can DJI get off the FCC Covered List?
Only through FCC action. DJI filed a petition for reconsideration on January 21, 2026, and the FCC set oppositions for April 6 and replies for May 11, 2026 in ET Docket 26-22 (DA 26-223). The Department of War filed its opposition on April 6, 2026, and on October 14, 2026 the FCC placed the Pentagon’s Section 1709 report letters to Congress into the record, the classified versions under seal (DA 26-1106). The Blue UAS and Buy American exemption that now runs to January 1, 2028 does not cover DJI products.
Are DJI’s new 2026 drones available in the US?
No new DJI drone can receive U.S. authorization while the company’s equipment is on the Covered List. DJI said 25 launches planned for 2026 are blocked from the U.S., worth a projected $860 million, per its court filing. Products such as the Agras T100 and Dock 4 launched elsewhere in 2026.
Does the 1260H designation stop consumers from buying DJI?
No. The Section 1260H list restricts federal Defense Department contracting and related procurement, not consumer purchases. The D.C. Circuit’s August 14, 2026 ruling sent part of DJI’s challenge back to the district court, and the June 10, 2026 list still names DJI.
What happens to DJI drones in police and fire departments?
Agencies can keep flying authorized aircraft and updating them through 2028. DJI says more than 80% of the 1,800+ U.S. law-enforcement agencies with drone programs use its aircraft, a company figure. Replacement planning matters most for thermal and dock systems, which score 80 on the DRSI.
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