Florida DJI drone ban grounds $200m fleet and angers police and state officials

Montage of the Florida state flag and a DJI Mavic 3 Enterprise drone behind bars
(Image credit: Future)

A law, backed by Florida governor (and US Presidential hopeful) Ron DeSantis, banning the use of Chinese drones in Florida has gone into force, grounding millions of dollars worth of police and state-service-owned drones overnight.

The law, Florida statute 934.50, is an unfunded mandate, meaning there is no new money for departments operating drones to replace their Chinese – usually DJI or Autel – drones with alternatives, and, as many have pointed out, the alternatives often aren't up to the job. DJI is the largest supplier of non-military drones on the planet, with a wide choice of the best DJI drones for most tasks.

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Adam Juniper
Managing Editor

With over 20 years of expertise as a tech journalist, Adam brings a wealth of knowledge across a vast number of product categories, including timelapse cameras, home security cameras, NVR cameras, photography books, webcams, 3D printers and 3D scanners, borescopes, radar detectors… and, above all, drones. 


Adam is our resident expert on all aspects of camera drones and drone photography, from buying guides on the best choices for aerial photographers of all ability levels to the latest rules and regulations on piloting drones. 


He is the author of a number of books including The Complete Guide to Drones, The Smart Smart Home Handbook, 101 Tips for DSLR Video and The Drone Pilot's Handbook