On April 14, 2026, the FCC issued a Public Notice updating their list of equipment and services (Covered List) that have been determined to “pose an unacceptable risk to the national security of the United States or the security and safety of United States persons. In this notice the FCC announces that the Department of War (DoW) has granted conditional approvals for certain routers and uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS). Therefore, such devices are exempt from the Covered List.
Of concern to public safety are UAS devices. The FCC has updated the Covered List last on March 18, 2026. For UAS Drones the Covered List states:
Uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) and UAS critical components produced in a foreign country†† —except,
(a) UAS and UAS critical components included on the Defense Contract Management Agency’s (DCMA’s) Blue UAS Cleared List, until January 1, 2027,#
(b) UAS and UAS critical components that qualify as “domestic end products” under the Buy American Standard, 48 CFR 25.101(a), until January 1, 2027; and
(c) devices which have been granted a Conditional Approval by DoW or DHS—and all communications and video surveillance equipment and services listed in Section 1709(a)(1) of the FY25 National Defense Authorization Act (Pub. L. 118-159)
Public Safety agencies with Drones are encouraged to review the FCC Covered List web site https://www.fcc.gov/supplychain/coveredlist to determine if the drones operated by the agency are on the list of Conditional Approvals. If there are any questions on the security status for their drones agencies should contact the drone manufacturer.
The full FCC Public Notice can be found here: https://docs.fcc.gov/public/attachments/DA-26-351A1.pdf or by searching for FCC DA 26-351.