A $750 camera with snap-on propellers tests where the drone ban stops

Zero Zero Robotics has put a $750 product on Indiegogo that it says is not a drone: the HoverAir Versa, described as a DJI Pocket-style mini steadycam with optional snap-on propellers that let it fly, according to The Verge ^[1]. That framing matters because in December 2025 the US government banned future foreign drones from reaching American shores, and the company's own floating HoverAir Aqua was among the first casualties ^[2][3].

The mechanics of the ban are what make the maneuver possible. The Verge reports that the December order stopped the FCC from automatically approving the radios of any foreign-made drone, so each company now has to convince the agency that its drone is made in the United States or does not pose a national security threat ^[4]. The blanket treatment of cameras, however, applies only to DJI and Autel Robotics, the two firms named in the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act ^[15]. So Zero Zero filed only for the camera portion, and told the Telecommunications Certification Body handling the file, one of the private companies the FCC outsources approvals to, that HoverAir had not been banned from getting cameras certified in the US, which was true ^[5]. The TCB signed off on that basis ^[6]. Approval came on August 9th, according to public records cited by The Verge ^[7], and the crowdfunding campaign launched this week with the company telling customers the product is good to go ^[8].

The propellers never enter the process. The FCC certifies gadgets with a wireless radio inside, and the flight kit connects to the camera through copper contacts and almost certainly has no radio, so HoverAir may not have to submit it at all ^[9].

The company is on record. "The Flight Kit is an accessory that extends VERSA's capabilities. Therefore, HOVERAir is in full compliance with the applicable regulatory requirements for the full product configuration offered to US customers," global marketing director Anita Facundo told The Verge ^[10].

The weak point is the exact language Zero Zero is filing around. The ban covers not just drones but "UAS critical components," and the FCC has explicitly said cameras are one of those components ^[11]. Because the Versa's camera contains radios, it sits under FCC jurisdiction ^[12]. The Verge reports the agency is likely to review the certification itself now that the loophole is being tested ^[18], and that it can nix a certification within 30 days, a window the publication says has not yet closed for HoverAir ^[16].

Those two facts sit awkwardly together: 30 days from August 9th runs out on September 8th ^[17], and the source does not explain how the reversal window remains open. Operators reading this as a template should note the asymmetry either way. The downside of a revoked certification lands on backers, not on the certification body that approved it. Zero Zero did offer refunds when it became clear the Aqua would not ship in the US ^[13], and it is selling the Versa camera on its own, though The Verge counted only 12 Indiegogo backers choosing that option at the time of writing ^[14].

Three things to watch. Whether the FCC opens its own second look before the reversal window it holds expires ^[18][16]. Whether the camera-only tier stays near a dozen orders, which would show buyers are paying for flight and not stabilisation ^[14]. And whether other foreign makers start unbundling hardware into a certified radio plus a dumb mechanical accessory, since the precedent, if it holds, is about paperwork boundaries rather than about cameras ^[9][11].