U.S. officials are moving to deputize state and local law enforcement partners for counter-drone activities ahead of the 2026 World Cup in an attempt to address a gap in legal authorities. While certain federal officials have been given the authority to counter unmanned aircraft that pose a credible threat to specified locations, that same authority has not yet been extended by Congress to state and local officials. So, as U.S. cities look to enhance the security of their skies ahead of the World Cup matches they’re slated to host, the federal government is moving to train and deputize law enforcement in those areas so they, too, can participate in counter-drone efforts. Details of those plans were shared at an event last week on drone mitigation co-hosted by the White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup, Commercial Drone Alliance, and DroneResponders. former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, who represents the 11 U.S. cities hosting World Cup matches on behalf of Hogan Lovells, told reporters: “There are some technical issues about who has the capacity to do counter-drone technology — who can operate that equipment.” Working with the FBI, he said, the White House is requiring officials to be trained, and “in effect, they become deputized, they become federal agents for this limited purpose.” While Coleman said it “would be cleaner” and easier to do it via legislation, he told reporters “the public should understand that we have the capacity to ensure that the folks who need to operate the equipment will be able to do it.” Through a recently launched FBI training program known as the National Counter-UAS Training Center, state and local law enforcement officers will be educated and then granted authority by the Department of Justice for counter-drone work. That schoolhouse located in Alabama was ordered under President Donald Trump’s executive order on drone mitigation and graduated its first class in recent weeks.
Days after deploying America’s newest and largest aircraft carrier to the Caribbean to target what the Trump administration alleges are drug-trafficking boats from Venezuela, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled a large-scale military and surveillance operation in the region that will commence later this month. “Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people. The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood — and we will protect it,” Hegseth wrote in a social media post last Thursday night. Venezuela launched a major military mobilization campaign this week in response to the U.S.’ unusual surge of weapons and Navy assets to its Southern Command area of responsibility. Last Tuesday, Hegseth deployed America’s most advanced aircraft carrier — the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) — and its strike group to Southcom, following an order from President Donald Trump. Tension has risen between Trump and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro this year, continuing to escalate in recent months. The U.S. has conducted multiple deadly strikes in the region Southcom covers since early September against vessels Hegseth has accused online of smuggling drugs from Venezuela.
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U.S. officials are moving to deputize state and local law enforcement partners for counter-drone activities ahead of the 2026 World Cup in an attempt to address a gap in legal authorities. While certain federal officials have been given the authority to counter unmanned aircraft that pose a credible threat to specified locations, that same authority has not yet been extended by Congress to state and local officials. So, as U.S. cities look to enhance the security of their skies ahead of the World Cup matches they’re slated to host, the federal government is moving to train and deputize law enforcement in those areas so they, too, can participate in counter-drone efforts. Details of those plans were shared at an event last week on drone mitigation co-hosted by the White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup, Commercial Drone Alliance, and DroneResponders. former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, who represents the 11 U.S. cities hosting World Cup matches on behalf of Hogan Lovells, told reporters: “There are some technical issues about who has the capacity to do counter-drone technology — who can operate that equipment.” Working with the FBI, he said, the White House is requiring officials to be trained, and “in effect, they become deputized, they become federal agents for this limited purpose.” While Coleman said it “would be cleaner” and easier to do it via legislation, he told reporters “the public should understand that we have the capacity to ensure that the folks who need to operate the equipment will be able to do it.” Through a recently launched FBI training program known as the National Counter-UAS Training Center, state and local law enforcement officers will be educated and then granted authority by the Department of Justice for counter-drone work. That schoolhouse located in Alabama was ordered under President Donald Trump’s executive order on drone mitigation and graduated its first class in recent weeks.
Days after deploying America’s newest and largest aircraft carrier to the Caribbean to target what the Trump administration alleges are drug-trafficking boats from Venezuela, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled a large-scale military and surveillance operation in the region that will commence later this month. “Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people. The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood — and we will protect it,” Hegseth wrote in a social media post last Thursday night. Venezuela launched a major military mobilization campaign this week in response to the U.S.’ unusual surge of weapons and Navy assets to its Southern Command area of responsibility. Last Tuesday, Hegseth deployed America’s most advanced aircraft carrier — the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) — and its strike group to Southcom, following an order from President Donald Trump. Tension has risen between Trump and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro this year, continuing to escalate in recent months. The U.S. has conducted multiple deadly strikes in the region Southcom covers since early September against vessels Hegseth has accused online of smuggling drugs from Venezuela.
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Ahead of the World Cup and Olympics, DHS offers grants for counter-drone tech
The Daily Scoop Podcast
6 minutes 35 seconds
2 weeks ago
Ahead of the World Cup and Olympics, DHS offers grants for counter-drone tech
The Department of Homeland Security’s non-federal government partners in communities across the U.S. can now apply for funding grants for certain counter-drone capabilities to address national security and safety threats posed by the illegal and nefarious use of unmanned aircraft systems. Officials wrote in a notice published online last week: “The funding enables state, local, tribal, and territorial governments, along with first responders and public safety entities, to acquire detection and tracking technologies designed to safeguard public spaces and critical infrastructure.” DHS estimates that $250 million will be obligated for the program in fiscal 2026 alone, and more money is expected to flow. Decisions about individual awards will happen between 30 and 60 days of the application submissions. The department expects to make 12 awards, with the financial assistance amounts to-be-decided and ranging across the winners. All projects will have a performance period of 36 months. Notably, the awardees will not be permitted to use the federal funding to purchase “Enhanced Detect, Track, Identification (DTI) systems,” including those that “capture, record, intercept, demodulate, decrypt, or decode signals” between UAS and ground control stations. Due to significant legal restrictions, privacy concerns and federal airspace regulations, SLTT entities don’t currently have official authorization to employ those types of technologies. Drone threats associated with surveillance, disruption, or attacks, have intensified across the nation in recent years. The U.S. military is significantly expanding work and investments to deploy defensive weapons, modernize electronic warfare capabilities, enhance sensor protection and other tools to protect its facilities in the United States and abroad. And with America hosting major, upcoming global events, agencies and officials have been calling for coordinated efforts to more aggressively confront the risks.
Anduril’s prototype drone developed for the Air Force’s Collaborative Combat Aircraft (CCA) program has taken its first live flight, the service announced Friday. The company conducted the flight of the unmanned fighter jet — known as the YFQ-44A — on Friday at a test location in California, the Air Force said in a press release. Beginning live flight tests of the CCA prototype “expands the program’s knowledge base on flight performance, autonomous behaviors and mission systems integration,” the service noted. The announcement that Anduril has moved into the flight test stage comes after General Atomics conducted the first flight of its CCA offering in August. Both companies are vying for Increment 1 of the CCA program, which is part of the Air Force’s Next Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) family of systems. General Atomics and Anduril received contracts for the first CCA increment in 2024, while the Air Force is also working with Shield AI and RTX to provide the drone’s mission autonomy. With both airframe vendors now in the next stage of the program, the Air Force is one step closer to making a final production decision for Increment 1 — expected in 2026.
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If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.
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U.S. officials are moving to deputize state and local law enforcement partners for counter-drone activities ahead of the 2026 World Cup in an attempt to address a gap in legal authorities. While certain federal officials have been given the authority to counter unmanned aircraft that pose a credible threat to specified locations, that same authority has not yet been extended by Congress to state and local officials. So, as U.S. cities look to enhance the security of their skies ahead of the World Cup matches they’re slated to host, the federal government is moving to train and deputize law enforcement in those areas so they, too, can participate in counter-drone efforts. Details of those plans were shared at an event last week on drone mitigation co-hosted by the White House Task Force on the FIFA World Cup, Commercial Drone Alliance, and DroneResponders. former Minnesota Sen. Norm Coleman, who represents the 11 U.S. cities hosting World Cup matches on behalf of Hogan Lovells, told reporters: “There are some technical issues about who has the capacity to do counter-drone technology — who can operate that equipment.” Working with the FBI, he said, the White House is requiring officials to be trained, and “in effect, they become deputized, they become federal agents for this limited purpose.” While Coleman said it “would be cleaner” and easier to do it via legislation, he told reporters “the public should understand that we have the capacity to ensure that the folks who need to operate the equipment will be able to do it.” Through a recently launched FBI training program known as the National Counter-UAS Training Center, state and local law enforcement officers will be educated and then granted authority by the Department of Justice for counter-drone work. That schoolhouse located in Alabama was ordered under President Donald Trump’s executive order on drone mitigation and graduated its first class in recent weeks.
Days after deploying America’s newest and largest aircraft carrier to the Caribbean to target what the Trump administration alleges are drug-trafficking boats from Venezuela, Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth unveiled a large-scale military and surveillance operation in the region that will commence later this month. “Operation SOUTHERN SPEAR defends our Homeland, removes narco-terrorists from our Hemisphere, and secures our Homeland from the drugs that are killing our people. The Western Hemisphere is America’s neighborhood — and we will protect it,” Hegseth wrote in a social media post last Thursday night. Venezuela launched a major military mobilization campaign this week in response to the U.S.’ unusual surge of weapons and Navy assets to its Southern Command area of responsibility. Last Tuesday, Hegseth deployed America’s most advanced aircraft carrier — the USS Gerald R. Ford (CVN 78) — and its strike group to Southcom, following an order from President Donald Trump. Tension has risen between Trump and Venezuelan President Nicolas Maduro this year, continuing to escalate in recent months. The U.S. has conducted multiple deadly strikes in the region Southcom covers since early September against vessels Hegseth has accused online of smuggling drugs from Venezuela.
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If you want to hear more of the latest from Washington, subscribe to The Daily Scoop Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Soundcloud, Spotify and YouTube.
