The FCC Just Banned the Imported Inverters Every Solar Backup Needs

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A drone flew over my backyard last year. Hovered for about 30 seconds, then moved on. Probably a neighbor's kid. Probably harmless. But it got me thinking about a class of surveillance that didn't exist five years ago and now costs $50 from any electronics store. The skies above your property aren't as private as they used to be. Understanding this new reality is part of modern preparedness.

Here's what I've got this morning:

Drones, Privacy, and Awareness From Above

Consumer drones are everywhere. The FAA counts 837,513 registered drones and 481,760 certificated remote pilots, and plenty more aircraft fly unregistered. They carry high-resolution cameras, thermal sensors, and in some cases delivery payloads. For preparedness, drones represent both a tool and a concern.

As a concern: drones can surveil your property, observe your activities, and document your resources from above. During disruptions, drone surveillance by opportunistic individuals could identify homes with visible generators, gardens, livestock, or other resources. This extends the operational security principles from Issue 151 to the vertical dimension.

What you can do legally: observe and document. If a drone is flying over your property, record it with your phone. Note the time, direction of flight, and any identifiable markings. Report suspicious drone activity to local law enforcement. In the US, shooting down a drone is a federal crime (they're classified as aircraft), so don't do that.

What you can do practically: reduce your aerial signature. Covered storage areas hide equipment from above. Camouflage netting over outdoor projects or gardens reduces visibility. Trees and structures provide overhead concealment. None of this is extreme. It's the same concept as closing your blinds, applied vertically.

As a tool: drones are useful for property inspection (checking your roof after a storm without climbing a ladder), perimeter monitoring, search and rescue support, and post-disaster damage assessment. A basic camera drone ($100 to $300) provides aerial views of your property that are otherwise impossible without a ladder or aircraft.

RF detection devices can alert you when a drone is operating nearby. Consumer drone detectors cost $100 to $500 and identify the radio frequencies used by common drone controllers. This is a niche tool but relevant for anyone with heightened security concerns.

The legal landscape around drones is evolving. The FAA regulates airspace. Local ordinances address privacy. Check your state and local laws regarding drone flights over private property.

Look up from your backyard and assess your aerial visibility.

What's visible from directly above? Your garden, your storage area, your generator, your vehicles. Now consider what a hovering camera would see. Is there anything you'd want less visible? A tarp, an awning, or tree cover addresses the most obvious exposures.

Drone Sightings Near U.S. Airports Jumped From 320 to 601 in One Quarter

The FAA logged 601 drone sightings near U.S. airports from April through June, up from 320 the previous quarter, and the agency now averages more than 100 reports a month. Three incidents in the Northeast drove most of the attention. A JetBlue pilot on final approach to JFK reported striking a drone at about 3,000 feet, a helicopter pilot near the same airport reported a remote-control aircraft passing close that same day, and a United crew landing at Newark reported a possible drone days earlier. Investigators found no physical evidence in any of the three, which is its own kind of problem: the reports climb while the confirmations do not. In DroneShield's 2026 survey, roughly 60 percent of infrastructure operators said they have no legal authority to stop a drone over their own site. Detection is legal. Response mostly is not.

Source: FAA UAS Sightings Reports, DRONELIFE, ASIS International

In Left of Bang, Patrick Van Horne and Jason A. Riley lay out the Marine Corps' Combat Hunter program in plain language. Establish a baseline for the environment you are in, then watch for the thing that breaks it. The entire point is to act before an event rather than react after it, which is what the title means: left of bang. Most people carry a rough baseline for their street at ground level. Very few have one for the airspace above their own house.

The civilian application is measured. You do not need counter-drone capability. You need to know what normal looks like overhead, which for most properties is nothing at all, so that a camera hovering at 200 feet registers as an anomaly worth noting instead of blending into the background. Simple measures (covered storage, reduced visibility, and the habit of actually looking up) address most aerial privacy concerns without specialized equipment. About $12 for the paperback.

The FCC Just Banned Imports of Foreign-Made Solar Inverters

On Tuesday the Federal Communications Commission added foreign-made power inverters, humanoid robots, and four-legged robots to its covered list, the designation reserved for products it considers an unacceptable risk to national security. In practice the agency stops issuing new equipment authorizations, which keeps new units out of the U.S. market. Chairman Brendan Carr said the goal was to "secure America's critical supply chains." The ban applies to all foreign-made units regardless of country of origin, though China holds an estimated 85 percent of the robotics market.

The inverter is the part that matters at home. It converts the DC output of solar panels or a battery bank into the AC power your house actually runs on, which makes it the one component every residential solar and backup system depends on. Equipment already installed is unaffected, but new imports are the pipeline, and the pipeline just narrowed. If solar or battery backup is on your list this year, expect fewer models and higher prices, and get your quotes sooner rather than later. Worth noting for this issue's topic: the FCC ran the same play on drones in December, banning foreign-made uncrewed aircraft and their critical components. The airspace over your house and the power feeding it are now being regulated through the same mechanism.

Source: The Hill, The Washington Post, CBS News, ABC News, TechCrunch

DJI Mini 4K (Property Inspection Drone)

We picked up this sub-250-gram drone for roof inspections, property overview, and general familiarization with the technology. At under 249 grams it does not require FAA registration or Remote ID for recreational use. Camera quality is more than sufficient for identifying roof damage, gutter problems, and property layout from above.

After a recent windstorm we flew it over the roof and found two damaged shingles that were invisible from the ground. The repair cost $30. Finding them from a ladder would have meant working on a two-story roof. Finding them from the air took five minutes. Currently $229, down from a $299 list price.

Budget alternative: Awareness without ownership. Understanding that drones exist, what they can see, and how to reduce your aerial visibility costs nothing. You don't need a drone to prepare for drones.

Overrated: Anti-drone jamming devices. They're illegal in the US (you can't jam radio signals), they're expensive, and they address a threat that's real but low-probability for most residential situations.

Underrated: Trees and overhead structures as natural drone concealment. A mature tree canopy over your backyard provides better aerial concealment than any technology. Planting trees is a long-term investment that improves property value, reduces cooling costs, and provides overhead privacy. Free with patience.

FAA: Drone Safety. Federal drone regulations for operators and property owners.

DJI.com. Consumer drone product information.

AUVSI.org. Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems. Industry information and advocacy.

Grokipedia: Unmanned Aerial Vehicle. Background on drone technology and regulations.

EFF: Drones and Privacy. Electronic Frontier Foundation analysis of drone privacy issues.

Leadership during a crisis. How to lead your household, your street, and your community when everyone is looking for someone to take charge.

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PS: The drone over my backyard was, I later confirmed, my 14-year-old neighbor testing his birthday present. Harmless. But it demonstrated something important: anyone can now see my property from 200 feet up for $50. That's a new reality worth acknowledging, even if the most common use is kids playing with toys.