The Federal Communications Commission’s recent action to expand its Covered List to include certain foreign-made unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and critical components marks a defining moment for the U.S. drone industry.
This decision, rooted in national security policy, brings long-awaited regulatory clarity to a market that has been navigating uncertainty around sourcing, compliance, and long-term availability. As future authorizations for affected platforms become restricted, the industry is entering a new phase, one that prioritizes trusted supply chains, compliant technology, and operational resilience.
XTI Aerospace anticipated this shift.
Through the acquisition of Drone Nerds, the nation’s leading enterprise UAS solutions provider, XTI Aerospace is positioned to support commercial, enterprise, public safety, and government customers as they transition to compliant, high-performance drone systems sourced from the United States and allied partners.
Drone Nerds was built to operate in regulated environments. Rather than focusing solely on hardware, the platform delivers end-to-end solutions that include product selection, fleet management, training, service, and lifecycle support. This approach enables customers to adapt quickly as regulatory frameworks evolve, without disrupting missions or operations.
While existing equipment in the field may continue operating, future purchases and deployments now require closer scrutiny of supply chains, components, and compliance pathways. For many organizations, the challenge is not understanding the regulation but executing a transition without compromising mission readiness.
This is where XTI Aerospace, through Drone Nerds, plays a critical role.
Drone Nerds provides a comprehensive enterprise platform designed to support customers across every stage of the transition:
- Evaluation of compliant UAS platforms and components
- Access to a diverse network of U.S. and allied manufacturers
- Fleet transition planning and execution
- Training, service, and long-term lifecycle support
Because Drone Nerds is not dependent on a single manufacturer or geography, the platform offers flexibility at a time when flexibility matters most. Customers can move confidently toward compliant systems while maintaining operational continuity.
As demand accelerates for domestically sourced and FCC-approved UAS platforms, XTI Aerospace believes the market will increasingly favor providers that offer not only compliant products, but also the scale and expertise required to deploy and support them nationwide. XTI Aerospace knows success will be defined by execution, helping customers adapt quickly, responsibly, and at scale. With Drone Nerds, that capability is already in place and represents a foundational pillar in XTI’s broader strategy to lead across the unmanned systems ecosystem.