The US Department of Transportation (DOT), Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, Department of Energy and Department of Justice have announced an expanded interagency effort to further coordinate counter-uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS) operations.
The memorandum of understanding, which was led by the White House Task Force to Restore American Airspace Sovereignty, further establishes an interagency process to evaluate C-UAS technologies and deploy them to protect aviation safety and advance national security.
The parties will work closely with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and Federal Communications Commission (FCC) when developing new systems that detect, track, stop or take control of dangerous or unauthorised drones. They will consider DOT, FAA and FCC requirements and any testing data when researching, developing, testing, evaluating or assessing those systems.
The agencies will collaborate on technical requirements, field testing and data sharing with a view to safely introducing new C-UAS systems. The FAA may provide technical requirements, standards and guidance for their safe introduction and the DOT may provide guidance for how those capabilities fit into the broader civilian transportation system.
The FAA said on 9 November that it will quickly review and conduct safety risk assessments of proposed systems to make sure safety protocols and airspace deconfliction measures are adequate. “The FAA will provide any technical data showing unsafe conditions, along with recommended ways to reduce risk,” the agency said in a press statement. “If the FAA believes additional risk mitigation is needed it can implement its own protective measures, including restricting airspace.”
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