At a hearing on Sept. 16, 2025, Brett Feddersen, Chair of the Security Industry Association (SIA) Drone Security Subcommittee and vice president for strategy and government affairs at D-Fend Solutions, testified before members of Congress to discuss increasing risks from the misuse use of drones and give legislative recommendations for implementing a clear and comprehensive framework for the use of counterdrone technologies and operations across the United States.
The hearing — “Unmanned and Unchecked: Confronting the Rising Threat of Malicious Drone Use in America” — focused on the growing threat posed by unauthorised and criminal use of uncrewed aircraft systems (UAS) in both domestic and international airspace.
Rapid advancement of drone technology
As drone technologies rapidly evolve and become ever more affordable and accessible, it is essential that policies limiting access around sensitive sites and events can be enforced and that drones used for legal and authorised purposes can be distinguished from those being used for criminal activity or potentially attacks.
Along with the rapid advancement of drone technology, counter-UAS technologies have been evolving to meet these needs. Various detection technologies, such as radar, optical systems, radio communications and acoustics, allow trained security personnel to detect, track and identify drones in their airspace.
Barriers to deploying counterdrone technology
There are many proven ways of responding using technologies that federal agencies have fielded for many years
Once a drone can be clearly identified as safe or a risk, there are many proven ways of responding using technologies federal agencies have fielded for many years; however, unnecessary barriers to deploying counterdrone technology more widely remain due to outdated laws on the books.
“By taking decisive action now to modernise our laws, enhance our technological capabilities and strengthen the partnerships between all levels of government, we can ensure that our skies remain safe and that the promise of unmanned technology is never subverted by those who seek to do us harm,” said Feddersen in testimony submitted to the House Judiciary Subcommittee on Crime and Federal Government Surveillance.
Awareness of drone activity
Current authorities for federal agencies to detect and mitigate malicious drones are set to expire on Sept. 30, 2025, if Congress does not renew them; however, the current regime is fragmented across various federal agencies, creating confusion and potential gaps in response to incidents, especially for state and local law enforcement and trained security personnel protecting critical infrastructure.
It is imperative that Congress not just renew but expand the current authorities for all federal agencies, state, local, tribal and territorial law enforcement and trained security professionals in a clear and cohesive framework to ensure that American communities can have complete air domain awareness of drone activity across the United States.
Find out the state of adoption, trends and opportunities with Artificial Intelligence (AI) in physical security.
