Unauthorised drone activity has moved well beyond a theoretical threat, according to international airports, aviation authorities, correctional facilities, and port operators across North America, Europe, Africa, Asia, and the Middle East.
These are the findings of Airspace Under Pressure: A Global Assessment of Counter-UAS Readiness Across Airports and Critical Infrastructure, a new industry report from DroneShield.
Some 70 percent of survey respondents identified detection capability gaps as a barrier to effective counter-uncrewed aerial systems (C-UAS) operations.
Furthermore, 60 percent of respondents also indicated that they lack the legal authority to take direct mitigation action against unauthorised drones, even when the threat to safety is clear and immediate. Other reasons cited as barriers to effective C-UAS operations include integration complexity (at 48 percent) and training and preparedness (35 percent).
The survey asked respondents to describe their organisation’s C-UAS operational objectives. 17 percent had no formal plan, 13 percent cited awareness only, another 13 percent said objectives were detection focused, while 57 percent described their C-UAS goals as awareness, detection, tracking and response.
“The 17 percent of respondents with no formalised C-UAS plan represent a specific and acute risk: organisations that will be managing a drone incident for the first time during the incident itself, with no established procedures, no clear escalation pathway and no baseline situational awareness from which to act,” DroneShield said. The company’s director of public safety, Tom Adams, said the capacity to convert awareness into effective action is the primary C-UAS challenge and called for regualtory reform and operational integration to advance.
The report includes operator survey data, thematic analysis across five key capability dimensions, and a readiness maturity framework for self-assessment.
For more information
The 2026 Unmanned Airspace Global Counter-UAS Systems Directory is now available. The Guide is the world’s only comprehensive, continually updated directory of global C-UAS companies and systems. It itemises over 1,000 C-UAS products and services with performance details, company sales and partnerships arrangements. It is updated every month and broken down into niche sub-sectors (net-capture, missiles, intercept drones, detectors etc) to give C-UAS procurement and industry personnel a unique perspective of global C-UAS technical capabilities and market positions. It is available in word, PDF and excel formats and Unmanned Airspace readers are eligible for a range of discounts. For more information about the Directory please contact the editor Philip Butterworth-Hayes at philip@unmannedairspace.info.