Drone News: FCC To Vote on Chinese Test Labs, LAANC Meets DroneSense, DJI Dock 4 & Matrice 5TD

Welcome to your weekly UAS News Update, we have three stories for you this week: the FCC moves to shut out Chinese test labs, Versaterm brings LAANC into DroneSense, and DJI launches Dock 4 with automatic battery swaps. Let's get to it.

First up, the FCC will vote on October 29th on an order that ends recognition of every test lab in mainland China. The cutoff date is December 1st, 2028. Keep in mind, every phone, camera, router, and other electronic device needs FCC authorization before it can be imported to the US. Interestingly, private labs do that testing, and Chinese labs tested 82% of the devices that applied in 2025. U.S. labs tested less than 4%. That means that out of 46,402 devices that applied, 38,491 were tested in China. It also means that only 1856 were tested in the US. This does not change the Chinese drone ban. Foreign-made drones went on the Covered List on December 22nd, 2025. No new grant is possible no matter who tests it. This hits the products that can still get grants, like DJI's Osmo cameras, plus chargers and accessories, and any other brand of device that performs its testing in China. Next, Versaterm has built LAANC authorization directly into its DroneSense platform. Public safety agencies can now request airspace approval without leaving the app they already use to dispatch and manage drones. The connection runs through Aloft, which Versaterm acquired in February. DroneSense is now an FAA-approved LAANC Secondary Data Service Provider.The goal is speed for Drone as First Responder programs. That matters in search and rescue or a tactical call near an airport. Existing DroneSense customers get this at no extra cost. A reminder, an integrated workflow does not guarantee approval. Agencies still have to meet FAA requirements and get the clearance. Currently there's no roll-out date, so for those of you using DroneSense, On the hardware side, DJI has launched the Dock 4 and the Matrice 5TD. Dock 4 is the first DJI dock that swaps the battery automatically. Earlier docks only charged the pack inside the drone. DJI says the swap takes 25 seconds. Landing to takeoff takes 45 seconds, and the Matrice 5TD flies up to 59 minutes per pack. The 5TD has three 50 megapixel cameras, a thermal camera, LiDAR, and mmWave radar. The dock holds three spare batteries and charges two at once. With the Covered List in place, there is no path to U.S. sale or use, so while this might be a great upgrade for folks who use the Dock 3 or Matrice 4D series, it won't be available in the US. And the conversation continues on Post flight where we discuss these stories uncensored in the Premium Community, link is in the description. We'll see you for the live Q&A on Monday. Have a good weekend!https://dronexl.co/2026/10/10/fcc-vote-chinese-test-labs-82-percent-us-devices/https://dronedj.com/2026/10/10/versaterm-aloft-dronesense-laanc-faa/https://dronexl.co/2026/10/14/dji-dock-4-matrice-5td-battery-swap-launch-no-fcc/