Arkansas joins Florida, US agencies in banning DJI drones

Legislators in Arkansas have joined a still small but powerful and gradually expanding cohort of officials in the US moving to formally ban use of drones made in China for official purposes – a blacklisting movement that first became popular among politicians in Washington targeting sector powerhouse DJI.

Arkansas Act 525 bans the procurement and operation of drones made by companies in China or other countries that have been added to official US blacklists. It stipulates that UAVs from “covered foreign entities” proscribed from use by various US federal agencies may not be bought by the State of Arkansas any of its divisions or organizations – including police and firefighting forces. 

The Arkansas law gives current operators of banned drones until 2027 to ditch the now-prohibited craft unless they receive a waiver from the state’s Department of Transport to continue using them.

Adoption of Arkansas’s legislation was motivated…