To the land surveying profession,
Over the past year, sweeping national security debates have reshaped segments of the geospatial technology landscape in the United States. What began as concern over consumer electronics and unmanned aerial systems has rapidly expanded into broad regulatory action targeted at global supply chains and foreign-controlled communications technology — most visibly the high-profile restrictions on Chinese-manufactured drones such as those from DJI. These developments serve as a clarion call for our profession, where the precision of our measurements is matched only by the importance of the data we collect and manage.
On Dec. 23, 2025, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) enacted a ban preventing new models of foreign-made drones — most notably from DJI and other companies — from receiving FCC equipment authorization required for legal sale and import into the U.S. market. This action stems from a provision in the Fiscal Year 2025 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) (“Section 1709: Analysis of Certain Unmanned Aircraft Systems Entities”), which mandated that a designated national security agency complete a risk assessment of certain foreign UAS manufacturers by a statutory deadline. Because no such assessment was completed by that date, the law directed the FCC to add these companies’ products to its Covered List, triggering a de facto ban on future new product authorizations due to perceived “unacceptable risks” to national security.
In parallel, U.S. Customs enforcement of the Uyghur Forced Labor Prevention Act (UFLPA) has further complicated the availability of certain foreign-sourced products by presumptively barring the importation of goods linked to forced labor supply chains absent clear and convincing evidence to the contrary.
These laws, while aimed at unmanned aircraft, underscore a larger regulatory reality: Hardware and systems that incorporate wireless communication, positioning data and network connectivity are now being evaluated not just on price and performance, but on the geopolitical and legal frameworks governing their manufacture and data flows.
Why This Matters to Surveyors
Unlike drones that may record video or operate autonomously, GNSS receivers and surveying instruments might appear, at first glance, to be “infrastructure agnostic.” Yet modern surveying workflows increasingly rely on connected receivers, real-time correction streams, cloud-linked processing and firmware updates. These integrations create potential vectors for data movement, firmware control and system trust that can have implications far beyond the jobsite.
The same national security logic applied to drones — that foreign corporate governance, software supply chains and legal obligations under overseas jurisdictions could expose sensitive operational data or infrastructure — can equally be applied to GNSS and positioning equipment. When a law enforcement agency, a transportation department or a land surveyor captures centimeter-accurate spatial data used to define critical infrastructure assets or territorial boundaries, that data’s integrity and governance become matters of national interest.
Domestic Production, Transparency and Accountability
For domestic manufacturers — such as JAVAD GNSS, whose design and assembly occur primarily in the United States — this legislative climate highlights important differentiators:
- Supply Chain Traceability: U.S.-based engineering and assembly provide clearer oversight of firmware, hardware sources and update mechanisms tied to U.S. legal frameworks.
- Data Governance Clarity: Transparency around how data is stored, transmitted and protected, with audit trails and clear compliance with U.S. privacy norms, builds confidence for government and enterprise users.
- Regulatory Resilience: Devices manufactured under U.S. jurisdiction are less likely to be subject to sudden import or communication restrictions rooted in geopolitical tension.
It is essential to emphasize that this is not an indictment of any individual foreign manufacturer. Companies like CHC Navigation, Trimble, Topcon, Leica, Stonex and others provide valuable innovations and competition that have democratized access to precision geospatial tools globally. Yet the evolving regulatory environment makes clear that trust in technology is inseparable from questions about who controls it, how data flows are managed and under what legal regimes those controls reside.
A Call for Industry Action
As a community, we must take proactive steps:
- Evaluate procurement criteria to include supply-chain transparency, data governance policies and jurisdictional oversight of firmware and cloud services.
- Advocate for international standards that prioritize secure, auditable positioning technology that can be trusted across borders without compromising national security interests.
- Engage policymakers to ensure that regulations aimed at protecting national interests do not inadvertently stifle technological progress or penalize industries reliant on precision instrumentation.
- Encourage independent security audits of GNSS products, similar to those now common in telecommunications and aerospace domains.
Conclusion
The restrictions on foreign-manufactured drones in the United States are a symptom of a larger trend: Critical spatial infrastructure and technology are now squarely a matter of national policy as much as they are of engineering excellence and commercial utility. Surveyors have always been stewards of accurate measurement and dependable data. Today, that stewardship extends to the security and integrity of the tools we choose.
Thoughtful, informed decision-making about the technologies we deploy ensures not just precise positioning, but secure, sovereign and resilient geospatial systems for the future of our profession and our nations.
Sincerely,
An Advocate for Secure, Transparent GNSS Technology
