Carolina Volunteer Rescue Team Trains on DJI Matrice 4T Amid Drone Restrictions

The team added a DJI Matrice 4T thermal drone and began hands-on volunteer training. Its public post prompted questions about federal restrictions that do not prohibit its purchase or use of this previously authorized aircraft.

Thermal drones help rescue teams search in darkness and respond after storms. For donation-funded teams, tariffs and potential import restrictions could make these capabilities more expensive to obtain, even when existing aircraft remain legal to fly.

The all-volunteer Carolina Emergency Response Team in Charleston, South Carolina, held hands-on training with its new DJI Matrice 4T on October 17 and is recruiting operators. Responding to a question about DJI bans, the team called the restrictions overreach. The FCC’s Covered List blocks authorizations for new DJI models but preserves approval for the Matrice 4T, while federal procurement restrictions do not cover a nonprofit purchasing with donations. A separate proposal targeting imports and sales of foreign thermal drones remained pending, although a 100 percent tariff on imported drones with integrated thermal imagers was already in effect. The aircraft carries a thermal camera and an AL1 spotlight to support rescue operations.

Evidence supplied by DroneXL.