The Washington National Guard hosted a counter-uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS) summit earlier this month, with the aim of uniting government, academic, legal, public safety and industry experts to bolster national security.
The central component of the summit was a tabletop exercise simulating a coordinated drone attack on Lumen Field during a FIFA World Cup match. Participants examined the steps leading to the hypothetical attack, conducted pre-incident assessments, and explored possible drone launch points and methods of attack. The scenario also included two drone-based attacks on critical infrastructure, designed to expose vulnerabilities, test response capabilities, and evaluate interagency coordination.
Throughout the exercise, participants confronted persistent challenges: limited authorities across various levels of government, gaps in resources, and barriers embedded in current policy and legal frameworks.
The summit emphasised parallels between today’s challenges and the vulnerabilities the nation faced prior to Sept 11, 2001. Citing the findings of the 9/11 Commission Report, which acknowledged a failure of imagination, a failure of laws, a failure of capabilities and a failure of management, Major General Gent Welsh, Washington’s Adjutant General and Homeland Security Advisor, urged leaders and attendees to learn from the past.
“If you think about where the world was on September 10th, we are at a very similar place,” said Welsh. “The commission report talked about red flags that popped up prior to 9/11, and now we have seen what is happening across the globe with drones and need to be ready.”
Referencing recent drone incidents in New Jersey, Welsh explained how the real-world event highlighted regional vulnerabilities. “That kicked me into high gear, because I immediately asked myself, if that happened in Washington state, how would I respond to the governor?”
Defence industry partners presented a range of available technologies for detection, deterrence, disruption and mitigation. The Washington National Guard said in a November 17 news release that these presentations highlighted both the rapid innovation occurring in the C-UAS arena and the need for streamlined pathways to integrate these tools into public safety operations.
“I imagine we have solutions but you guys have the tools that will take us from concept to practical application,” said Welsh.
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Image: Maj. Gen. Gent Welsh, The Adjutant General, Washington National Guard, talks with attendees during the C-UAS summit in Renton, Washington on November 5, 2025. (US National Guard photo by Joseph Siemandel)
