DJI ban loophole? Meet the SPECTA and SPECTA Mini

It seems likely that if a ban on DJI drones is made law, that DJI would do everything in its power to get around or fight it. A loophole might have already been found by the drone giant, introducing the SEPCTA and SPECTA Mini by Cogito. Drones that just seem a little too close to ignore them not being DJI clones.

Earlier this month, we reported on Anzu Robotics licensed Mavic 3E called the Raptor. From what we and other experts can tell, is a loophole to keep DJI drones available for US companies to purchase after a ban is signed into law.

However, it might not stop there. Reported first by The Hill, a new company looks to be ready to produce and ship DJI licensed drones here in the states one the drone ban goes into effect.

Approved by the FCC, Hong Kong-based Cogito Tech Company Limited’s SPECTA and SPECTA Mini, show signs that they are just copies of DJI’s most popular consumer drones. The Hill states drone experts say the two “are nearly identical to products produced by DJI.”

We spend the weekend looking through each product’s FCC filing. While we didn’t find a smoking gun that proves The Hill is correct in claiming these are DJI clones, I would say we found a gun loading and ready to fire.

First are the label images, only the SPECTA Mini’s controller had a clear diagram that showed where it would be placed. The font, style, and layout of the controller back is, as The Hill reports, nearly identical to that of DJI’s RC-N2

The label will be engraved into the controller, a rather common practice but also lines up with how DJI does it too. Finally all the specs of the controller line up with what DJI offers. Neither of these are definitive proof, but makes it a possibility.

What was most interesting to look over was RF emissions reports for each company’s controllers. This is a common report sent to the FCC for approval that shows any sort of radiation from antennas is within legal limits.

While the reports have different dates, DJI’s was created in February 2023 while Cogito was made just less than a year ago in July 2023, the reports are nearly identical. Where the reports do differ are some changes in figure orders and the removal of DJI’s logo.

The question is, how likely would two products have 100% identical RF emission reports? We attempted to find Skydio’s report but was unable to, but the images shared in each report match, 100%.

So what drones are they?

The theory The Hill states is Cogito is licensing drones tech from DJI for manufacturing and importing to the States. It would be clear that the SPECTA Mini is a clone of DJI’s Mini 4 Pro but the regular SPECTA could be up in the air.

My personal guess would DJI’s Air 3, which is currently on sale for 20% off at the DJI store and on Amazon. However, it would make sense for this to be a Mavic 3 Pro, however, rumors of a Mavic 4 nearing release would make that non-practical. If Cogito is DJI’s partner for licensed consumer drone products, this could be a reasonable line-up for the company if it begins to build all of DJI drones:

• SPECTA SE (Mini SE 4K)
• SPECTA Mini (Mini 4 Pro)
• SPECTA (Air 3)
• SPECTA Pro (Mavic 4)

We will have to wait for the outcome of the Senate’s version of the 2025 National Defense Authorization Act to see if the ban survives and what DJI’s actions are to contest it.

But if the ban is signed into law, and any protest fails, the best case scenario will be the ban isn’t retroactive and Anzu and Cogito’s drones keep DJI products on the market for new purchasers.