Department of Homeland Security
Every UASFeed story on Department of Homeland Security — across defense, counter-UAS, industry, commercial, policy, and tech, newest first.
-
Policy & Regulation
Drug Traffickers Could Become Africa's Drone Arms Dealers, a Paper Warns. The Hardest Data Comes From Latin America
A new paper warns that drug networks could sell armed drones and the skills to use them to African armed groups, but its own author calls the drugs-for-drones barter claim an unconfirmed lead. The strongest data still comes from Mexico and Colombia.
-
Policy & Regulation
Laredo Police Vow to Take Down Drones at a Hotel Fire, but the FAA Listed No Restriction and Federal Rules Require Mitigation Certification
Laredo's police chief said officers would "take down" drones over the DoubleTree hotel fire, but the FAA's TFR list showed no restriction for the city. Federal rules let local police mitigate drones only after certification, with ATC notice and a 48-hour report, and no one has said whether any Laredo officer is certified.
-
Policy & Regulation
FBI Will More Than Double Its Counter-Drone School After 700 World Cup Seizures, but the Safer Skies Pipeline Still Runs Through One Campus
The FBI's Redstone counter-drone school will more than double capacity after 700 World Cup seizures, but with 250 more graduates expected next fiscal year and about 340 metro cities waiting, the only path to local takedown authority remains a bottleneck.
-
Policy & Regulation
FCC's '$5 Billion' Drone Manufacturing Claim Mixes Pledges With Real Capital, Filing Shows
FCC Chairman Brendan Carr says the Covered List drone ban drove $5 billion into U.S. manufacturing, but the agency's own filing counts valuations and five-year pledges alongside cash actually raised.
-
Policy & Regulation
Civil Liberties Groups Urge D.C. Circuit to Vacate FAA's Rescinded Drone-Journalism Restriction
EFF, the ACLU and photojournalism groups tell the D.C. Circuit that the FAA's withdrawn drone flight ban near DHS operations still needs to be formally vacated, arguing the agency could reimpose the restriction that critics say criminalized filming ICE and CBP.
-
Policy & Regulation
California's 400-Foot Drone Ban Near Concerts Heads to the Governor's Desk
California lawmakers gave final, unanimous approval to a bill banning unauthorized drone flights within 400 feet of large outdoor concerts and amusement parks, setting up a likely fight over whether states can regulate airspace the FAA hasn't touched.
-
Policy & Regulation
FCC Rejects Bids to Delay Comment Deadline on 'Military-Grade' Drone Import Ban
The FCC has denied three requests to extend the Sept. 2 comment deadline on a rule that could strip authorization from foreign drones with thermal cameras, LiDAR or docking stations — categories DJI says sweep up ordinary commercial models.
-
Policy & Regulation
FCC Opens Formal Comment Period on Banning Foreign 'Military-Grade' Drones Under NDAA Covered List
The FCC formally opened a 30-day comment window on banning sale and import of foreign UAS and components tied to its Covered List, with a disclosed May 2026 probe into US-based Anzu and warnings from DJI that farm drones could get caught in the net.
-
Policy & Regulation
FCC Turns Wartime Drone Import Exemptions Into a Permanent Compliance Framework
The FCC quietly removed the 2026 sunset date on Conditional Approval exemptions from its Covered List, turning what was billed as a temporary bridge for foreign-made drones into an open-ended compliance regime.
-
Policy & Regulation
The FCC Is About to Make DJI Impossible to Buy on Amazon — and Every Wireless Gadget Harder to Fake
The FCC votes July 22, 2026 on a Third Report and Order requiring marketplaces like Amazon to show FCC IDs at checkout and closing a "logic-bearing hardware" loophole that let Covered List components, including DJI's, back into U.S. commerce.
-
Policy & Regulation
DHS and DOJ Issue Interim Final Rule Letting State and Local Police Detect, Track and Take Down Drones
A new joint DHS/DOJ interim final rule, effective July 1, 2026, hands state, local, Tribal and territorial police and correctional agencies detection and — for the first time — drone mitigation authority, with public comment open through September 4.
-
Policy & Regulation
DHS, DOJ and FCC Finalize SAFER SKIES Act Rules Giving Local Police Counter-Drone Authority
A new Interim Final Rule, effective July 1 and published July 6, 2026, lets trained state, local, Tribal and territorial agencies detect, track, disable or seize drones — backed by FCC spectrum actions and a mandatory FBI training course at Redstone Arsenal.
