Effective December 22, 2025, federal funds may no longer be used to purchase drones from Covered Foreign Entities, and any drones previously purchased from a Covered Foreign Entity may no longer be used in performance of federal projects.
This includes purchasing or using drones from Covered Foreign Entities on any existing federal grants, contracts, cooperative agreements, or flow-through awards.
Covered Foreign Entities
“Covered Foreign Entities” include entities from sanctioned and embargoed countries such as China, Russia, Iran, and North Korea, and specifically encompass well-known brands like DJI and Autel. The American Security Drone Act of 2023 requires that a list of all Covered Foreign Entities be maintained on the SAM.gov website.
Federal Drone Restrictions
The following federal legislation and regulations have imposed these drone restrictions:
- The American Drone Security Act of 2023
- The National Defense Authorization Act (2024)
- FAR 52.240-1: Prohibition on Unmanned Aircraft Systems Manufactured or Assembled by American Security Drone Act-Covered Foreign Entities.
Approved Drones for Federal Funded Activities
If you need to purchase a new drone to support federally funded research, it must be NDAA compliant, meaning the drone and all critical components are not sourced from a Covered Foreign Entity. You should always confirm sponsor requirements before purchasing. While drones from the Blue or Green UAS lists are not usually required, those manufacturers have completed rigorous security and cybersecurity assessments, offering added assurance of compliance and reliability.
Non-Federal Research
These restrictions do not currently apply to non-federally funded activities, although additional state and federal drone operation rules, including location restrictions, may apply to drone use.
Support
If you are uncertain if these restrictions apply to you or one of your projects, please contact the Research Integrity & Compliance Office for assistance.
If you anticipate purchasing drones as part of your federal award, USU is requesting that prior purchase approval be received from the agency via a Program Officer. If you need assistance contacting the agency to inquire about receiving approval to purchase drones, please contact your USU Sponsored Programs representative.
Additional Restrictions
State of Utah - Effective January 1, 2025, SB 135 (Utah Code 72-10-12) prohibits public entities from using drones purchased from a Covered Foreign Entity from being used in the "inspection of critical infrastructure" in the state of Utah.
- Public entities can continue to use drones, regardless of origin, IF the following conditions are met:
- Drones is not connected to the internet when performing a critical infrastructure inspection; AND
- Data from the inspection is removed from the drone before connecting to the internet; AND
- Only NDAA-authorized or U.S. developed software is used for video broadcasting over the internet (outside of the inspection).
- State requirements for removing data from drone include:
- Using secure erasure software to overwrite SD card data multiple times
- Performing a full format of the SD card before reconnecting to the internet
- Verifying erasure using recovery software
- Disabling automatic upload features to prevent accidental data transmission
- Keeping firmware up to date for enhanced security
- The State of Utah has provided a useful presentation outlining these changes.