NDAA Section 848 Extends Drone Compliance Beyond Country of Origin
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United States – October 29, 2026 -- Section 848 of the FY2020 National Defense Authorization Act restricts the U.S. Department of Defense from operating or procuring certain drones tied to China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, and its reach extends past the aircraft's assembly location to components, software and data services.
Section 848 covers flight controllers, radios, cameras and data storage
A drone assembled in the United States or another approved country is not automatically NDAA compliant. Restricted components, software or data services used elsewhere in the system can disqualify it. Buyers must trace the origin of flight controllers, radios, data-transmission devices, cameras and gimbals. Ground-control systems, operating software, network connectivity and data storage also affect compliance.