Drones weighing more than 55 pounds, and any drone flown under an FAA waiver, must be registered like an airplane with the operator's name on file. That makes this the only public count of who is really buying and flying commercial drones in the United States.
18,783
registered drones
11,221
crop-spraying drones
DJI Agras, Hylio, XAG, EAVision
4,120
delivery drones
Zipline and Amazon Prime Air
980
light-show drones
UVify and Verge fleets
1,327
defense and long-endurance
Anduril, Shield AI, Insitu
The DJI question agricultural drone registrations per month
On December 22, 2025 the FCC added DJI and Autel to its Covered List, which blocks approval of new DJI models for sale in the U.S. Aircraft already approved can still be sold from stock and flown. The register shows what happened next: DJI's monthly registrations fell from a peak of 257 to 85 in September 2026, while Hylio (Richmond, Texas) registered 113.
DJIHylioXAGEAVisionOther makers
September 2026 is a partial month, through September 25, 2026. Counted by the date the FAA issued the registration certificate.
All drone registrations per month, by use
Agricultural dronesDelivery and cargo dronesDefense dronesDrone light showsInspection and mapping dronesOther
By use
Agricultural drones11,221 (60%)Delivery and cargo drones4,120 (22%)Defense drones1,327 (7%)Drone light shows980 (5%)Other or not yet classified857 (5%)Inspection and mapping drones233 (1%)Consumer drones45 (0.2%)
Maker names are cleaned up by this site. The FAA spells DJI four ways and Pipistrel ten. Makers directory
Largest drone fleets
Companies, LLCs and government bodies with five or more registered drones, led by Zipline (2,845), Hylio INC (704) and Pixis Drones LLC (646). Individuals are never listed.