US Blacklists 15 Chinese Companies Over Drone Parts For Hamas And Houthis

Photo credit: Ali Al-Sakani / X

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The US Commerce Department added 15 Chinese companies to its restricted Entity List on Wednesday for facilitating the purchase of American electronic components found in weaponized drones operated by Hamas and Houthi militants, according to a final rule published in the Federal Register.

The blacklisting marks another escalation in US efforts to disrupt supply chains fueling Middle East conflicts, with American-made drone components recovered from combat zones now triggering export restrictions that will reshape electronics trade between the world’s two largest economies, reports the SCMP.

Ten Companies Tied to Houthi Drone Operations

Ten Chinese companies were designated specifically for facilitating purchases of components found in weaponized unmanned aircraft systems operated by Yemen’s Houthi militants. The Iran-backed group has launched hundreds of drone and missile attacks against commercial shipping in the Red Sea and targets in Israel since October 2023, disrupting global maritime trade and threatening regional stability.

The Commerce Department’s Bureau of Industry and Security determined these firms acted as intermediaries, helping procure US-origin electronics that ended up in Houthi arsenal despite export controls. The components include processors, communications modules, and guidance systems critical to drone operations.

Five Additional Firms Linked to Hamas Drones

Five more Chinese companies earned Entity List designation based on Israeli Defense Forces’ discovery of American components in numerous weaponized drones operated by Hamas. The discoveries occurred around October 7, 2023, when Hamas-led militants staged an attack in Israel that killed 1,200 people and triggered the ongoing Gaza war.

IDF forces recovered intact and damaged Hamas drones containing US-manufactured electronic parts, providing evidence of supply chain breaches that allowed American technology to reach Iranian proxy forces despite existing restrictions. The findings prompted the Commerce Department investigation that culminated in Wednesday’s blacklisting.

One additional Chinese company was added for being part of an illicit network obtaining and supplying drones and components to front companies acting for Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.

Companies Added to U.S. Entity List

Based on the Federal Register document dated October 9, 2025, here are the 29 entries (26 entities and 3 addresses) added to the Entity List:

CHINA (19 entries)

1. Address 16 – 14C, Hung Shui Kiu Main Street, Yuen Long, N.T., Hong Kong
2. Address 17 – Rm. 1605A, Ho King Commercial Center, 2-16 Fa Yuen Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
3. Address 18 – Room 1605, Ho King Commercial Center, 2-16 Fa Yuen Street, Mong Kok, Kowloon, Hong Kong
4. Arrow China Electronics Trading Co., Ltd.
5. Arrow Electronics (Hong Kong) Co., Ltd.
6. Beijing Kevins Technology Development Co., Ltd.
7. Beijing Plenary Technology Co., Ltd.
8. Beijing Rageflight Technology Co., Ltd.
9. Easy Fly Intelligent Technology Co., Ltd
10. Feng Bao Electronic Information Technology (Shanghai) Co., Ltd.
11. Feng Bao Trading Hong Kong Ltd
12. Gansu Shuili Hoisting Equipment Co., Ltd.
13. Goodview Global
14. Jinan Xin Yin Bo Electronic Equipment Co., Ltd.
15. Schmidt & Co., (HK) Ltd.
16. Shandong Xin Yin Bo IOT Technology Co., Ltd.
17. Shanghai Bitconn Electronics Co., Ltd.
18. Shanghai Langqing Electronic Technology Co.
19. Shanghai Sisheng Power Control Technology Co., Ltd.

TURKEY (9 entries)

1. Atadoruk Havacilik Savunma Sanayi Ticaret Limited Sirketi
2. Business Metal Sanayi Ve Dis Ticaret Limited Sirketi
3. DBC Makina Sanayi ve Ticaret A.S.
4. Ercetin Is Makinalari Yedek Parcalari Insaat Ve Dis Ticaret Limited Sirketi
5. PMR Teknik Makine Ticaret Limited Sirketi
6. Sisdoz Aritma Ve Pompa Teknolojileri Sanayi Ticaret Anonim Sirketi
7. TGB Aviation
8. UMS Ankara Kalibrasyon Mühendislik Müşavirlik Mümessillik Sanayi Ve Ticaret Limited Sirketi
9. Yant Insaat Gida Turizm Sanayi Dis Ticaret Limited Sirketi

UNITED ARAB EMIRATES (1 entry)

1. Royal Impact Trading L.L.C.

Effective Date: October 8, 2025

All entities face license requirements for all items subject to the Export Administration Regulations (EAR), with license applications reviewed under a presumption of denial.

What Entity List Designation Means for These Companies

Companies placed on the Commerce Department’s Entity List face severe restrictions that effectively cut them off from US technology supply chains. American companies must now obtain special licenses before exporting any goods or technology to these 15 Chinese firms—licenses that will likely be denied under the Commerce Department’s presumption of denial policy.

The restrictions extend beyond direct exports. Under recent regulatory changes, the Entity List now applies to foreign-produced items that incorporate US technology or are made with US equipment, dramatically expanding the reach of these controls. Third-country suppliers using American components or manufacturing tools must also comply with the restrictions.

For the blacklisted Chinese companies, this means losing access not just to US-made electronics, but to entire categories of technology produced globally using American intellectual property, equipment, or materials.

Turkey and UAE Companies Also Blacklisted

The Commerce Department added a total of 29 entities to the Entity List, including companies based in Turkey and the United Arab Emirates. The Turkish and Emirati firms reportedly facilitated transshipment of drone components and helped Iranian proxy forces evade existing export controls through complex logistics networks.

Arrow Electronics subsidiaries in Turkey and UAE were among those cited for enabling the supply chains. While Arrow Electronics has stated it follows all applicable export regulations, the listings highlight how global electronics distributors can become unwitting—or witting—participants in weapons proliferation networks.

The inclusion of Turkish and UAE entities underscores the multinational nature of these supply chains, where components may pass through multiple countries and companies before reaching their final military end users.

Broader Implications for US-China Tech Trade

This latest round of Entity List additions continues the Biden administration’s aggressive use of export controls to address national security concerns. The Commerce Department has added hundreds of Chinese companies to the blacklist over the past two years, targeting everything from semiconductor manufacturers to surveillance technology firms.

The drone supply chain restrictions come as the US pursues parallel efforts to reduce dependence on Chinese drone manufacturers. DJI, which dominates the US commercial drone market with over 70% share, remains on the Entity List for human rights concerns related to surveillance in Xinjiang. Congress has passed legislation that could ban new DJI drone models from US airspace entirely.

For American drone operators and electronics companies, these restrictions create both challenges and opportunities. Compliance burdens increase as companies must vet suppliers more carefully, while domestic manufacturers may gain market share as Chinese competitors face growing restrictions.

DroneXL’s Take

The discovery of American electronics in Hamas and Houthi combat drones represents a complete failure of existing export controls—one that’s been building for years while Washington focused on higher-profile targets like DJI and Huawei. We’ve covered the Entity List extensively since DJI’s 2020 blacklisting, and this pattern is frustratingly familiar: reactive enforcement after American technology has already been weaponized against US interests and allies.

What’s particularly troubling is the intermediary role these Chinese companies allegedly played. They weren’t manufacturing the drones or even the components—they were simply facilitating purchases that should have been blocked at the source. This suggests systematic gaps in how US electronics reach global markets, with layers of distributors and brokers obscuring end-user destinations.

The October 7 attack evidence is especially damning. Hamas operated those drones for months before the assault, meaning American components were flowing into Gaza’s weapons programs while US officials remained oblivious. The Houthi supply chains appear even more sophisticated, supporting an ongoing campaign of hundreds of drone strikes that has crippled Red Sea shipping and cost the global economy billions.

Looking ahead, these blacklistings won’t fix the underlying problem. The commercial electronics supply chain is simply too complex, too globalized, and too profit-driven to prevent determined actors from obtaining dual-use components. China manufactures 70-80% of the world’s commercial drones and a massive share of electronics globally—blocking 15 companies barely dents that ecosystem.

The real question is whether the US can build viable alternatives to Chinese drone manufacturing dominance, or whether these export controls will simply push transactions further into the shadows while American end-users pay higher prices for the same Chinese-made components acquired through longer, murkier supply chains. Based on our reporting over the past five years, we’re skeptical that blacklisting alone achieves much beyond political optics.

What do you think? Can export controls actually prevent American technology from reaching conflict zones, or is this another example of closing the barn door after the horses have bolted? Share your thoughts in the comments below.