If you’ve ever watched a few hundred illuminated drones dance across the night sky forming a floating, glowing cartoon or a city logo, your first thought probably wasn’t: “Ah, yes. A terrifying display of military-grade swarm warfare!” Certainly that was not the case at my own wedding drone show.
Yet, in the grand bureaucrat-speak of Washington regulatory agencies, that may be what is happening.
On July 21, 2026, the the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) released Public Notice DA 26-758 (click this link to download the PDF from the FCC’s website). That FCC document proposes a total ban on the importation and marketing of foreign-produced “military-grade” Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) and their critical components. (Keep in mind this is merely a proposal, not an actual ban).
And sure, banning actual foreign military hardware sounds like standard national security fare — and it should come as absolutely no surprising considering this is the same agency that wants to ban foreign-made drones (save for some exceptions). Six of the seven categories listed under the FCC’s proposal describe things that pertain more to big industrial drones — much unlike anything civilian light-show operator flies: 55+ lb platforms, chemical sprayers, thermal imagers, LiDAR systems, automated docking stations, and bomb-carrying airframes.
But then there’s the seventh category in the FCC’s proposal titled “Swarming UAS,” and it specifically calls out light show drones in its definition of a swam drone. According to the FCC’s document, it defines swarm drones as “UAS purpose-built to perform flights in coordinated and synchronized formations, including applications such as multi-UAS light shows, where numerous illuminated UAS work together to create synchronized aerial displays.”
Yes, you read that right. The federal government has officially equated Fourth of July light shows with autonomous combat swarms designed to overwhelm air defenses.
Does the FCC just not understand drone technology?
The central flaw in the FCC’s proposal is a severe, almost comical conflation of two completely different technologies.
“Drone show systems are very different from military-grade drones,” said Rodrigo Serzedello, Director of Commercial Operations at drone light show company Creative Skies, in an interview with The Drone Girl. “They are not ‘intelligent swarms,’ they don’t communicate with each other to make decisions, and they don’t change their flight paths while they’re in the air. Every drone simply follows a route that was planned and uploaded before takeoff.”
Far from being “autonomous swarms” that dynamically react to their environment, a light show fleet is functionally just a synchronized, sky-high pixels display.
“Most commercial drone show systems don’t even use collision avoidance during the show because every movement is carefully pre-programmed,” Serzedello said. “Once the show starts, the operator is basically controlling functions like start, pause, resume, or abort. The drones aren’t making decisions on their own. If something goes wrong, their programmed response is simply to return to their designated home position.”
To call a light-show drone a military swarm is just a smidge (okay a lot more than a smidge) aggressive. And just to be clear, show aircraft carry no outward-facing cameras, no payload capacity (aside from small things like the occasional fireworks), have battery lives measured in minutes and operate on short-range, local Wi-Fi links that typically land the drone automatically if signal is lost.
What this could mean for the drone light show industry
The FCC’s notice does note that the proposed rule wouldn’t ground currently operating fleets. Existing equipment could still legally fly. However, that still scares even established drone light show companies. After all, show drones are consumable tools. Motors burn out, batteries degrade, and aircraft occasionally suffer hard water landings or mechanical failures. A fleet that cannot be replenished or expanded doesn’t stay the same size, but rather it shrinks until it can no longer assemble a functional formation.
Furthermore, because the proposed ban covers critical components as well as full aircraft, operators won’t even be able to import most of their replacement parts.
And of course, don’t forget 47 CFR § 2.903 (that’s the rule where new equipment authorizations for foreign-made drones on the FCC Covered List are already blocked). That has created something of an opportunity for American drone companies who have found themselves with a little less competition.
But particularly in the drone light show industry, there are few American-made light show drones. UVify, used by major players like U.S. drone light show leader Sky Elements, is based in South Korea. PABLO air is also based in South Korea.
A handful of American-made light show drone companies include Texas-based Verge Aero and Michigan-based Firefly.
Why are we trying to ban drone light shows anyway?
This regulatory overreach creates a bizarre, contradictory policy environment.
Across the country, state and local governments are actively pulling back on traditional pyrotechnic fireworks for reasons including severe wildfire risks, drought, air quality concerns, and noise impacts on veterans and pets. Cities and theme parks have spent years transitioning their municipal celebrations to drone light shows as the safe, clean, high-tech alternative.
And just my humble opinion after having witnessed dozens of drone light shows around the world, including in Paris and Hong Kong: they simply are more charming, capable of better storytelling.
How you can stop this rule: Submit your own FCC comment
Here’s the good news: DA 26-758 is a proposal, not a final rule. The FCC is explicitly asking the public whether its definition of “military-grade” is accurate and whether sufficient domestic alternatives exist.
Now what you, reader, must realize is that the agency operates on the record built in front of it. Surely domestic defense manufacturers with a vested interest in banning foreign hardware will file comments. If event operators, venues, tourism boards, theme park leadership and pilots don’t speak up, the FCC will assume its definition is correct.
The public comment period for PS Docket No. 26-189 is open for 30 days following its official publication in the Federal Register.
How to file your comment:
- Go to the FCC’s Electronic Comment Filing System at fcc.gov/ecfs/search/docket-detail/26-189.
- Click Express Filing (faster option, though there is also a standard filing option).
- Ensure the Proceeding number is 26-189.
- Fill in your name, company name, and location.
- Write your comment in your own words. (Do NOT copy and paste a template, as the FCC filters out identical form letters).
As far as what to say, here are some guidelines:
If you represent a drone light show company:
- Identify your business. Share your fleet size, how many shows you run a year, your FAA waiver number, and local job numbers.
- Explain the tech: Point out that light-show drones are pre-programmed, time-indexed playback devices with no inter-drone communication, no sensors, short battery life, and zero autonomous decision-making.
- State the economic reality: Clarify that there are insufficient domestic manufacturers producing affordable show drones at scale, meaning an import ban freezes the market.
- Provide a clear solution: Ask the FCC to strike the light-show sentence from Category 7, or create a clear category exemption for entertainment/light-show UAS.
If you are a purchase of drone light shows (e.g. event coordinator, city official, venue owner):
- Highlight community impact: Describe how your city or venue relies on drone displays for major public celebrations, tourism, and local economic activity.
- Explain the public safety shift: Detail why your community transitioned away from traditional pyrotechnics, such as mitigating wildfire risks, drought concerns, air pollution, or noise impacts on veterans and pets.
- Expose the policy collision: Point out that freezing the show drone supply forces local governments back toward pyrotechnic hazards, directly contradicting municipal safety initiatives.
- Ask for public interest protection: Request that the FCC exempt entertainment UAS so local communities can keep access to safe, modern public events.
If you simply want to keep drone light shows from this ban:
- Call out the technical mismatch: Explain in plain language that a synchronized 15-minute public art display is not a military combat swarm.
- Emphasize low risk: Highlight that show drones carry light bulbs rather than cameras or weapons, follow fixed pre-set routes, and operate transparently in public airspace.
- Focus on consumer enjoyment: State how much public value, art, and entertainment these eco-friendly displays bring to local communities.
- Urge a common-sense fix: Ask the FCC to correct its definition by removing multi-UAS light shows from the “military-grade” classification entirely.
“At the end of the day, our industry exists to create safe, memorable entertainment experiences for the public,” Serzedello said. “I hope our industry has the opportunity to explain these differences so policymakers can evaluate drone shows based on how the technology really works.”
The sky isn’t falling, but if the drone community stays silent on Docket 26-189, it might get a whole lot darker.
Curious to learn more? Creative Skies, one of the drone companies referenced in this story put together their own highly detailed industry alert, which you can read here.