Drone Law Brief | June 2026: MOD notified DFPDS; Maha approves new UAS Policy

In India, the Ministry of Defence raised delegated financial powers for revenue procurement and Maharashtra approved a five-year unmanned systems policy targeting Rs. 25,000 crore in investment. Abroad, the FAA turned every FIFA World Cup stadium into a No Drone Zone as enforcement operations brought down eight aircraft in a single day, the Ruler of Sharjah issued an emirate-wide drone law, Transport Canada proposed mandatory Remote ID, and a Seoul court added a 30-year term against former President Yoon Suk-yeol over drone flights across Pyongyang. We cover 19 developments across nine jurisdictions.

India

1. Ministry of Defence notifies DFPDS-2026, enhancing delegated financial powers for revenue procurement

The Ministry of Defence (‘MOD’) notified the Delegation of Financial Powers to Defence Services, 2026 (DFPDS-2026) on 2 June 2026, effective 8 June 2026, replacing the 2021 delegation. The order raises the financial ceilings of Competent Financial Authorities (‘CFAs’) across the Army, Navy, Air Force, Integrated Defence Staff, and Medical Services. This substantial enhancement in ceilings will enable timely response for immediate operational requirements which will arise from ground realities. Order also introduces a 100 per cent increase in the total ceiling available to service commanders for urgent operational requirements, and doubles the powers delegated for indigenisation and research and development. 

It covers revenue-route procurement with an annual value exceeding Rs. 1.25 lakh crore based on current-year budgetary allocations. The order creates several new CFAs, pushing acceptance-of-necessity and expenditure sanctions to lower administrative levels. The DFPDS also adds a Lead Service mechanism under which one service can procure common-requirement items on behalf of the others at a higher delegation than standard procurement. 

For the drone sector, the revenue channel will be important because unit-level counter-drone systems, attritable UAS, and operational replenishment will now take place through a shorter sanction chain. This continues the delegation thread we reported in our February 2026 edition, where the draft Defence Acquisition Procedure, 2026 proposed greater delegation to lower administrative levels and a Fast Track pathway covering drones; read with the revised Defence Procurement Manual of October 2025, it completes a coordinated push toward faster, decentralised defence buying.

2. Maharashtra approves Unmanned Systems Policy 2026-2031

The Maharashtra Cabinet approved the Maharashtra Unmanned Systems Policy 2026-2031 in June 2026. The policy is administered by the Department of Electronics, Information Technology, and Artificial Intelligence, and sets a five-year framework to position Maharashtra as a leading hub for innovation, production, and adoption of Unmanned Systems in India. The state has set targets of Rs. 25,000 crore in investment and more than one lakh direct and indirect jobs across manufacturing, research and development, services, and operations, and articulates the objective of positioning Maharashtra as the "Capital of Unmanned Systems."

The policy contemplates specialised manufacturing clusters with testing and commercialisation facilities, three Centres of Excellence dedicated to aerial, marine, and ground-based unmanned systems, certification of at least 5,000 remote pilots, a single-window regulatory interface for investors, and a Maharashtra Unmanned Systems Mission to coordinate implementation. 

Ahead of the policy's approval, industry stakeholders had urged the government to act, flagging the absence of dedicated in-state testing zones and warning that businesses could migrate to neighbouring states if the gaps were left unaddressed. Following the announcement, drone manufacturers and training organisations criticised the policy, as reported by the Times of India on 12 July 2026.

United States

1. FAA publishes FIFA World Cup 2026 safety plan as counter-drone enforcement intensifies

The Federation Aviation Administration (‘FAA’) published a dedicated safety plan for the FIFA World Cup 2026, designating all tournament stadiums as "No Drone Zones" and implementing Temporary Flight Restrictions (‘TFR’) around host venues, with drone flights prohibited within a one-nautical-mile radius up to 1,000 feet above ground level at certain fan-event locations. In a release dated 18 June 2026, the Transportation Security Administration reported that a joint counter-UAS operation involving the Federal Air Marshal Service, the FBI, and Kansas City police intercepted eight drones on 16 June during World Cup events at Kansas City Stadium and the FIFA Fan Festival for TFR violations. All eight aircraft and controllers were seized, and two operators were issued misdemeanour violation notices.

The FAA has set out the penalty exposure: TFR violations can attract civil penalties up to USD 75,000, criminal fines up to USD 100,000, up to one year of imprisonment, and seizure of the aircraft. Where a drone is assessed as a credible threat, federal agencies are authorised to deploy mitigation capabilities to intercept and seize it.

2. FCC issues USD 25,000 forfeiture notices against eight companies linked to DJI technology

The Federal Communications Commission's (‘FCC’) Enforcement Bureau issued Notices of Apparent Liability for Forfeiture in early July 2026, proposing penalties of USD 25,000 each against eight companies, Cogito Tech, Fixaxo Technology, Lyno Dynamics, SkyHigh Tech, Spatial Hover, SZ Knowact, WaveGo Tech, and Xtra Technology, for apparently failing to respond to the Bureau's Letters of Inquiry. The notices note that the Letter of Inquiry sought information on whether the companies had marketed within the United States any radiofrequency equipment added to the Covered List on 22 December 2025 as posing an unacceptable risk to national security. Several of the named companies have previously been connected to DJI-related products.

The Commission has not accused the companies of breaching the Covered List restrictions themselves; the proposed forfeitures stem from the failure to respond to a Commission order, since an unanswered Enforcement Bureau Letter of Inquiry is treated as a violation of a Commission order. The companies were given until 20 July 2026 to respond before the agency considers further measures.

We had covered in our 2025 Wrap and February 2026 edition the addition of all foreign-made drones to the Covered List on 22 December 2025. 

3. FAA extends NPRM titled “Designation - Restrict the Operation of Unmanned Aircraft in Close Proximity to a Fixed Site Facility” comment period to 5 August 2026 

On 30 June 2026, the FAA extended the comment period for its proposed rule "Designation-Restrict the Operation of Unmanned Aircraft in Close Proximity to a Fixed Site Facility". Comments were due to close on 6 July 2026 and now run until 5 August 2026. The underlying proposal, published on 6 May 2026, implements section 2209 of the FAA Extension, Safety and Security Act of 2016. It would let operators and proprietors of certain fixed site facilities apply for an unmanned aircraft flight restriction (UAFR) on grounds of aviation safety, protection of people and property on the ground, national security, or homeland security, and identifies the operations permitted within a UAFR.

The extension follows a request from the Office of the Attorney General of the State of New York, which cited the need to consult State and local agencies, a new New York Penal Law provision on unlawful drone use added on 27 May 2026, and reports of more than 300 drone seizures at FIFA World Cup match venues since 11 June 2026. Operators and manufacturers with US exposure have until 5 August 2026 to file at docket FAA-2026-4558 on regulations.gov, and the FAA has specifically invited cost data from smaller operators.

4. Court narrows Joby's trade-secret suit against Archer, dismisses Archer's counterclaims in full

The United States District Court for the Northern District of California issued an order on 5 June 2026 in Joby Aero, Inc. v. Archer Aviation Inc. narrowing the claims on both sides, with leave to amend. The suit, which we first reported in our December 2025 edition, was brought by Joby in November 2025 against Archer and former Joby employee George Kivork.

Two Joby claims remain now: 

1. Defend Trade Secrets Act claim concerning a confidential real-estate developer agreement, where Joby alleges Kivork downloaded the files before joining Archer. Archer then approached the same developer on Joby's confidential terms, and 

2. Narrow breach-of-contract claim against Kivork over a document-return provision in his employment agreement.

   
   

The court dismissed Joby's broader claims covering commercial strategy, regulatory planning, infrastructure planning, and technical aircraft information for want of specificity as to how the material was misappropriated, along with Joby's inducement claim. 

Archer's counterclaims, alleging that Joby concealed ties to China and misclassified imported components, were dismissed in full as impermissible shotgun pleadings. Archer's chief strategy and legal officer has said the court also found Joby's proprietary information and assignment agreement with Kivork to be an unlawful non-compete. Joby refiled on 22 June 2026 with a request for a jury trial; Archer's deadline to amend was 29 June 2026.

5. Representative Harrigan introduces American Drone Manufacturing Dominance Act

Representative Pat Harrigan introduced H.R. 9430, the American Drone Manufacturing Dominance Act of 2026, on 24 June 2026, referred to the House Committees on the Judiciary and on Energy and Commerce. The bill would condition eligibility for Department of Justice grant programs (the COPS Office and the Office of Justice Programs) on a law-enforcement agency certifying that it will not acquire any unmanned aircraft system manufactured in a covered foreign country after 1 January 2027, and will discontinue use of any such system it currently operates by 1 January 2031. Non-compliance would render an agency ineligible for the following fiscal year and require repayment of grant funds.

The Bill authorises appropriation of USD 1.5 billion derived from duties collected under Section 301 of the Trade Act of 1974, to be allocated as USD 150 million for a law-enforcement UAS buyback program, USD 150 million for DOJ grants to procure secure replacement systems, and USD 1.2 billion for a Commerce Department competitive grant program supporting domestic UAS manufacturing facilities, with a defence-repurposability requirement for eligible manufacturers. The term "covered foreign country" tracks the definition of "covered nation" in Section 4873 of Title 10.

For manufacturers, the bill works on both sides of the market, grant conditionality would tie federal law-enforcement money to trusted procurement, with a cut-off and a repayment consequence, while Commerce facility grants would fund domestic capacity directly.

6. Representative Patronis introduces Seaport Security Act to restrict drones over ports

Representative Jimmy Patronis introduced H.R. 9229, the Seaport Security Act of 2026, on 30 June 2026, with Representative Mike Haridopolos as cosponsor. The bill amends the federal criminal code to add a new offence, Section 40B, prohibiting drone flights in the airspace above a covered seaport from the surface up to 1,000 feet. A seaport is one handling at least one million tons of commercial or military cargo a year or routinely processing multi-day cruise passengers. It carves out federal, notified law-enforcement, seaport or contractor, waivered, and emergency operations, authorises the FAA and seaports to detect, mitigate, seize, and disable non-compliant drones, and sets penalties of a civil fine up to USD 25,000 per violation plus forfeiture, with wilful breaches punishable by up to two years' imprisonment, rising to ten years where breaches intended to surveil, damage, disrupt, or facilitate criminal or terrorist activity.

For port operators and their drone-service contractors, most of the carve-outs depend on advance notice to the FAA and the Coast Guard, so an operation that would otherwise be lawful becomes an offence if the notice is not given. Implementing regulations are due within 180 days of enactment, which is the point at which the notice mechanics become clear. Until then, the useful step is mapping which flights near covered ports would need notice and who inside the organisation is responsible for giving it.

United Kingdom

1. CAA publishes BVLOS operational data report, signalling shift towards routine operations

The Civil Aviation Authority ('CAA') published its Test and Evaluation annual report (CAP 3266) in May 2026. Authorised operators flew 1,672 flights and more than 350 hours between October 2024 and March 2026, and the CAA now holds that data. It comes from two sources: the BVLOS Sandbox, which runs Temporary Reserved Area projects with Airspection, Amazon Prime Air, Matternet, the National Police Air Service, Snowdonia Aerospace Centre, and Wing; and the Atypical Air Environment framework, which covers railways, power lines, and wind farms. 

The Sandbox accounts for over 200 hours across 1,097 flights in Class G and Class D airspace. Under the AAE framework, eleven authorised operations flew over 450 flights and more than 100 hours in the year. One drone left its planned route. None left an approved operating volume, and no crewed aircraft entered one.

The CAA agreed testing requirements with its policy teams before publishing the relevant concepts, so the data now feeds straight into the Electronic Conspicuity ConOps (CAP 3140), the Detect and Avoid Policy Concept (CAP 3127), and the Command and Control Link Policy Concept (CAP 3154). The flights span NHS logistics, emergency services, infrastructure inspection, and delivery. The report also records that CAP 3145, the pre-assessed test-site concept published in July 2025 and revised in November 2025, has produced four approved sites: Predannack, Llanbedr, Westcott, and Portland.

The CAA is building its BVLOS rules on flight data rather than projections with data coming from the sandbox and AAE operators.

2. Temporary drone restrictions imposed over a cluster of events and venues

The Secretary of State for Transport made a series of temporary flight restrictions on unmanned aircraft during June and early July 2026, each under article 239 of the Air Navigation Order 2016. Every instrument works the same way: no drone may fly within a set radius of a named location, below a stated altitude, for the duration of the event, unless the police or event authority gives permission. Altitudes commonly run between 1,100 and 1,400 feet.

The June cohort covers major fixtures and mass-gathering venues. It includes the Silverstone British Grand Prix, the Commonwealth Games in Glasgow, the Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Auchterarder, and gatherings at Crystal Palace Park, Finsbury Park, Tottenham, Roundhay, Coventry Arena, Aldershot, Birkdale, Durham, Doncaster, Lytham, Newport, and Grimsby. Some were made as emergency instruments with immediate effect.

On 2 July 2026 the Secretary of State made the Air Navigation (Restriction of Flying) (Blandford Forum) Regulations 2026, in force 16 July 2026, for an intended Royal visit. It bars unmanned aircraft below 1,300 feet above mean sea level within 0.54 of a nautical mile of Blandford Forum, Dorset, between 0900 and 1500 UTC on 16 July, unless the Dorset Police Drone Team has given permission.

European Union

1. EASA publishes June 2026 Easy Access Rules for UAS, consolidating the SORA 2.5 package

EASA published the June 2026 revision of the Easy Access Rules for Unmanned Aircraft Systems on 30 June 2026. It folds in ED Decision 2025/018/R, adopted on 29 September 2025, which brought the JARUS Specific Operations Risk Assessment (SORA) 2.5 package in as Amendment 4 to the AMC and GM to Regulation (EU) 2019/947. SORA 2.5 is now contained in one reference document alongside the Implementing Regulation and its acceptable means of compliance and guidance material. EASA has also moved the Easy Access Rules to a redesigned platform with permalinks, better search, and mobile support.

SORA 2.5 restructures the ten-step methodology, revises the ground-risk approach, and adds new operational-description templates for the specific category. 

National frameworks that reference SORA will reference this version. Australia has already adapted it as AusSORA, which we covered in our May 2026 edition.

2. ENAC opens consultation on draft UAS geographical zones regulation

The Italian Civil Aviation Authority (‘ENAC’), published a draft regulation on UAS geographical zones on 22 June 2026, opening a public consultation that closes on 24 July 2026. The draft sets out how UAS geographical zones are to be established, when an airspace reservation is required for UAS operations, and the criteria for flying within airport premises.

Operators in Italy have until 24 July to comment, and the airport-boundary criteria are important to note since that is where commercial UAS activity and manned aviation collide. The draft is another instance of member states adding national detail on top of the common EU framework.

3. European Commission disburses €3.9 billion for drones under the Ukraine Support Loan

The European Commission began disbursing €3.9 billion on 30 June 2026 as the first payment under a first tranche of around €6 billion dedicated to drone procurement for Ukraine, part of the €90 billion Ukraine Support Loan established by Regulation (EU) 2026/467. The wider loan provides €30 billion for budgetary aid and €60 billion for defence support across 2026 and 2027, with €28.3 billion of the defence package scheduled for disbursement in 2026. The Commission stated that the payment follows a €3.2 billion macro-financial-assistance instalment made on 25 June, and that upcoming disbursements will continue to cover drone procurement before extending to ammunition, missiles, and air-defence systems.

Under the Ukraine Support Loan Regulation, the Commission verifies the procurement contracts submitted in support of each payment request to ensure funds are used for procurement agreed with the Commission and member states. 

4. EASA CZIB on the Middle East and Persian Gulf revised

The EASA Middle East and Persian Gulf conflict-zone bulletin, which we reported in our March 2026 edition, was revised on 1 July 2026 to extend its validity to 8 July with no change to content or recommendations. The bulletin, first issued on 28 February 2026 following the US-Israel-Iran conflict, addresses risk in the airspace of eleven Middle East and Persian Gulf states and is directed at commercial air operators, advising against operations in the airspace of Iran, Iraq, and Lebanon and caution elsewhere in the region. 

Canada

1. Transport Canada publishes NPA 2026-005, proposing Remote ID, community-based sites, and designated drone airspace

Transport Canada published Notice of Proposed Amendment 2026-005 on 8 June 2026, the rewrite of the Part IX RPAS framework since that Part took effect in 2019. Remote ID would become mandatory for most drones between 250 grams and 150 kilograms conducting Basic, Advanced, or Level 1 Complex operations, on a performance-based basis accepting either broadcast or network Remote ID under the ASTM standard. A formal Community-Based Organization model would let approved national bodies declare permanent Fixed Sites where members fly exempt from Remote ID under the organisation's own safety procedures. A new Designated RPAS Airspace tool would let the regulator restrict drone operations below 400 feet without altering conventional airspace classifications, with breaches attracting administrative monetary penalties. Comments close on 9 September 2026 and final regulations are not expected before 2028.

These build on the Canadian RPAS reform we have tracked, following the Phase 2 amendments of November 2025 and the Bill C-15 developments covered in our May 2026 edition.

Fleet planning must now account for Remote ID retrofit or replacement, since Transport Canada acknowledges many mass-market models may never receive a compliant firmware update. The designated-airspace mechanism, backed by monetary penalties, converts geo-zone compliance from guidance into an enforceable obligation.

2. Health Canada finalises policy permitting drone application of pesticides registered for aerial use

Health Canada published Science Policy Note SPN2026-02 on 30 June 2026, finalising a policy that allows remotely piloted aircraft systems to apply pest control products already registered for conventional aerial application, following the same label instructions. Pesticides not registered for aerial application will still require a Health Canada approved label amendment before they may be applied by drone.

This finalises the proposal we reported in our March 2026 edition, when the consultation was open from 23 February to 25 March 2026. Existing aerial-application products can now be sprayed by drone without individual label amendments, removing a significant barrier for agricultural operators. Transport Canada certification still applies, including Level 1 Complex authorisation for medium-RPAS BVLOS spraying, as do the interim buffer zones.

Japan

1. Ministry of Defense expands drone flight-restriction zones around defence facilities to 1,000 metres

Japan's Ministry of Defense announced on 3 July 2026, via Press Release, that, with the enforcement of the Act Partially Amending the Drone Act, the flight-restriction zone around designated defence-related facilities will be expanded from approximately 300 metres to approximately 1,000 metres. A public notice has been issued designating the premises of each facility and the surrounding area extending roughly 1,000 metres as the designated facility surrounding area, and after an 11-day public-notification period the expanded prohibition takes effect from 14 July 2026. The amendment more than triples the protected radius around each designated defence site, materially enlarging the footprint of restricted airspace across Japan wherever such facilities are located.

Flight planning must now account for a substantially larger no-fly buffer, and operations within it are conditioned on advance administrator consent. Given the effective date of 14 July 2026, operators with planned missions near designated facilities should re-verify airspace status before flying.

2. MLIT abolishes the cap on drones a single pilot may operate simultaneously

Japan's Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (‘MILT’) revised its "Guidelines for Safely Operating Multiple Unmanned Aerial Vehicles Simultaneously (First Edition)" on 2 June 2026, removing the upper limit on the number of aircraft that a single pilot may operate at the same time. 

The revision incorporates findings from multiple-aircraft simultaneous-operation demonstrations conducted in FY2025. It lifts the cap on the premise that measures addressing the risks of a gradual increase in aircraft numbers will be verified in practice. MLIT framed the change as a commercialisation measure, noting that in fields such as logistics and infrastructure inspection a pilot at a remote-control base will be able to operate more drones simultaneously across different areas, improving operational efficiency and lowering cost.

South Korea

Seoul court adds 30-year term against jailed former President Yoon over Pyongyang drone flights

The Seoul Central District Court sentenced former President Yoon Suk-yeol to a further 30 years in prison on 12 June 2026. President Yoon is already in custody, serving a life term imposed in February 2026 for leading an insurrection over his 3 December 2024 martial law declaration, alongside a separate five-year obstruction of justice sentence.

The court convicted President Yoon and former Defence Minister Kim Yong-hyun of aiding an adversary and of abuse of power, holding that Yoon was a co-principal offender from the outset. The operation flew military drones over Pyongyang between 3 and 10 October 2024. North Korea said the drones dropped propaganda leaflets. The court found the flights served private political ends instead of national security, their purpose being to provoke a North Korean armed response and manufacture the emergency that martial law would then answer. Kim received the same term, the former counterintelligence commander 15 years, and the former head of the Drone Operations Command three years, suspended for five. President Yoon denied wrongdoing and the ruling remains open to appeal.

United Arab Emirates

Ruler of Sharjah issues emirate-wide law regulating the drone sector

The Ruler of Sharjah, Sheikh Dr Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi, issued a new law regulating the drone sector across the emirate on 22 June 2026. The law applies to all types of drones regardless of control system or intended purpose, and covers all areas within Sharjah, including free zones and special development zones, as well as public and private sector entities and individual operating drones within the emirate’s boundaries. Drones used for military or security purposes are excluded, along with any  drones exempted by decision of the Chairman of the Sharjah Department of Civil Aviation, where the exemption is necessary in the public interest or on the basis of the nature of their use. 

The Sharjah Department of Civil Aviation, working in coordination with the General Civil Aviation Authority ('GCAA') and other government entities, is responsible for approving aviation safety, security, and environmental systems for drone operations, managing and assessing operational risk, setting the categories, conditions, and procedures for qualification certificates issued to operators, pilots, controllers, and crew members, and issuing guidance manuals. Sharjah Police, in coordination with the Department, exercise powers relating to offences arising from drone use and take security and preventive measures to protect persons and property.

Owners must register their drones with the GCAA before commencing operations, and no drone may be flown or operationally tested unless clearly marked with registration numbers, identification codes, or another identification method specified by the authorities.

China

MOFCOM widens dual-use export controls on Japan, naming drone maker among targeted entities

China's Ministry of Commerce (‘MOFCOM’) announced on 29 June 2026 two measures tightening dual-use export controls on Japanese entities, its third such round following listings on 24 February 2026. Under the first announcement, 20 entities, including the National Institute for Defense Studies, were added to the Export Control List, barring Chinese exporters from supplying them with China-origin dual-use items and overseas organizations & individuals are prohibited from transferring or providing dual-use items originating from China to these entities.

Under the second, 20 further entities were placed on the Watch List, including the drone manufacturer Terra Drone alongside Mitsui E&S, Mitsubishi Nuclear Fuel, Japan Nuclear Fuel Limited, Hitachi Advanced Systems, and Fujitsu units.

For Watch List entities, exporters may no longer use general licences or registration filing and must instead obtain individual licences accompanied by a risk assessment and a written commitment that the items will not enhance Japan's military capabilities, with applications involving military end-users to be refused. MOFCOM stated the measures were legitimate and lawful and aimed at curbing what it characterised as Japan's "neo- militarism and remilitarisation," while noting they apply only to dual-use items and to a limited set of entities.

The direct inclusion of a named drone manufacturer shows that the drone sector now is within the China-Japan dual-use-control confrontation. For drone manufacturers and their suppliers with cross-border links to either jurisdiction, the practical effect is licensing issue, indefinite review timelines for affected transactions, and a compliance burden that now turns on documented end-use assurances.