The Legislation Edition

Domestic Drone Defense Takes Shape

The two major pieces of legislation under discussion at the Federal level include the Safeguarding the Homeland from the Threats Posed by Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act and The Stopping Harmful Incidents to Enforce Lawful Drone Use (SHIELD-U) Act.

Likely Outcome: More of the same, with an eye to '23.

In the short term, we expect Congress to extend existing DHS and DOJ authorities through early 2023, kicking the can past the midterms and over to the next Congress. Given broad support from key actors in both parties, the Chamber of Commerce, and even the NFL and MLB, there is little doubt that either the bill’s passage or its key components are unlikely to move forward.

Understanding the Key Provisions:

1. Reauthorization of existing DHS and DOJ C-UAS authorities.

2. Expansion of detection authorities to include the Transportation Security Administration and state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) law enforcement agencies.

3. New mitigation authorities to SLTT players under a pilot federal partnership program.

4. Establish a central database of approved C-UAS detection and mitigation technologies and vendors.

5. Enabling and overseeing placement of C-UAS mitigation equipment at critical infrastructure sites by federal and SLTT authorities.

6. Creation of a federally managed UAS incident tracking database.

Breaking Down the Individual Components

Reauthorization of existing DHS and DOJ C-UAS authorities is all but certain. Authorities have received high marks for the C-UAS detection and mitigation efforts they have managed to accomplish so far, with complaints primarily limited to the limited availability of federal staff.

A new federal pilot program to expand mitigation authorities to the TSA and SLTT entities ensures that authorities can address the real threats posed by unauthorized drones as they are identified. As with most legislation, lawmakers are preparing a variety of new funding pools to support training and acquisition efforts associated with C-UAS technologies (more to come).

Authorized vendors and technologies will help to ensure that only technologies proven to have no impact on the National Airspace System (NAS), emergency communications, and other associated disruptions are employed. Notably, legacy C-UAS technologies like jamming and kinetic solutions may not find the same level of support for use in dense urban environments, leading to new emphasis on cyber-centric technologies that eliminate the threat posed by rogue drones while avoiding the risk of collateral damage.

DHS has so far taken the lead in this regard, having received authority to evaluate C-UAS authorities previously in the Support Anti-terrorism by Fostering Effective Technologies Act (“SAFETY Act”). Details on how DHS conducts its evaluation can be found here.

Standardizing UAS incident tracking will enhance understanding of the nature, trends, and changes that occur across the domestic C-UAS landscape for both industry and regulators. Understanding common threat vectors, models, and use cases will help shape the next generation of UAS detection and defeat technologies.

Show me the Money!

Protecting critical infrastructure on the scale envisioned by the bill’s bipartisan supporters won’t be cheap, and lawmakers grasp this. Two new pots are on the table under the Drone Infrastructure Inspection Grant Act. This seeks to create a $100M grant fund to encourage the use of American-made drones to perform critical infrastructure inspection, maintenance, or construction projects. The bill would also authorize an additional $100M in grants for workforce training and education to prepare the next generation of workers in this field. The Secretary of Transportation would maintain responsibility for administration of the education and training grant program.

These efforts are separate from existing programs envisioned through the National Defense Authorization Act, SAFETY Act, and others. Some of these, including the announcement this week of a $15M grant to establish Oklahoma State University as a Counter Drone Center of Excellence (COE) and rapidly develop and test counter drone technologies, will shape industry engagement and innovation for years to come. The CUAS COE was established in partnership with the DOD through the National Defense Authorization Act to provide high-level research and engineering staff at locations in Oklahoma City, Stillwater, and Fort Sill in Lawton.

Other Legislative Efforts to Watch

• Walmart and Amazon embark on major lobbying push to redefine individual airspace rights.

  • Forbes has a great writeup on the efforts of major retailers to leverage FAA airspace authorizations to seize airspace rights without paying consumers. Historically, airspace up to 500ft has been considered non-navigable and under the domain of a property owner. New advances in UAS have created new challenges for lawmakers.

  • Potential Opportunity: Easy Pass for the skies. Unmanned aircraft system traffic management (UTM) technologies could allow federal, state, and local municipalities to create air corridors to detect and charge royalties for UAS flights over civilian airspace, generating new tax revenues for governments and potentially even allowing individual property owners to lease their air rights for drone delivery operations.

• Wyoming Considers Multiple Bills to Limit Drone Access

  • The Prohibiting Drones over Penal Institutions act would prohibit intentional photographs, surveillance, broadcasting, or otherwise record a penal institution or correctional facility using an unmanned aircraft system without authorization by the prison facility.

  • Similarly, the Trespass by Small Unmanned Aircraft act seeks to limit the encroachment of UAS into private and public property where such presence creates a nuisance. The act would make it a crime to cause a drone to "enter into the immediate reaches of the airspace over... private property" when such action interferes with "use and enjoyment of the airspace."

  • Impact: Anticipated First Amendment challenges aside, these efforts seek to grant new tools to local law enforcement in their fight against near-daily drone incursions at prisons and private residences. From drug and weapon contraband smuggling to pre-escape planning, drones have emerged as a major problem impacting global prison facilities and remain a key encroacher on individual property rights.