Department of Homeland Security
Every UASFeed story on Department of Homeland Security — across defense, counter-UAS, industry, commercial, policy, and tech, newest first.
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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.
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Commercial & Delivery
Drone Industry's Next Bottleneck Isn't Airframes — It's Battery Cells, and China Owns Them
A July 7 industry op-ed warns China controls 75-85% of global lithium-ion cell capacity and 99% of spherical graphite anode material, just as FY2024 and FY2026 NDAA bans on six Chinese battery makers begin phasing in against Pentagon drone purchases.
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Counter-UAS
TSA: Agencies Have Seized More Than 600 Rogue Drones Across World Cup Host Cities
TSA says federal and local agencies have confiscated over 600 illegal drones near FIFA World Cup 2026 stadiums since June 11 — double the total reported just two weeks earlier — with Kansas City, Seattle and San Francisco leading the tally.
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Policy & Regulation
Nearly 1 Million Comments Force FAA to Push Back Its Critical-Infrastructure Drone Rule Deadline
Swamped with nearly 900,000 public comments, the FAA has extended the deadline on its Section 2209 critical-infrastructure drone rule from July 6 to August 5, 2026.
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Policy & Regulation
The SAFER SKIES Rule Goes Live: Cops Can Now Legally Down Drones — If They Pass the FBI Schoolhouse First
A DOJ/DHS interim final rule effective July 1 lets state, local, tribal, territorial and correctional agencies detect, track and shoot down drones — but only after FBI certification, which is also the gate to a $500M grant pool.
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Policy & Regulation
The Drone Lobby Storms Capitol Hill: Adversarial-UAS Bans, Counter-UAS Authority, and a $70B FY27 Bet
At AUVSI's June 24 Hill Day, 100+ industry leaders ran 90+ meetings to push procurement bans on adversarial-nation drones, more DHS counter-UAS grants, and permanent Blue/Green UAS pathways — as core DoD C-UAS authority nears its Dec. 31 sunset and FY27 steers $70B+ to drone dominance.
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Policy & Regulation
FAA Cracks the Door Open: How Part 107/135 Operators Can Get Authorized to Fly Inside World Cup 'No Drone Zones'
The FAA's June 22 NOTAM update confirms certain drone operations may be permitted inside World Cup security airspace with DHS authorization — giving Part 107 and 135 operators a concrete approval path via [email protected] amid $100,000 fines and the new DETER enforcement push.
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Counter-UAS
World Cup C-UAS Crackdown: 39 Drones Seized, Criminal Charges in First Six Days
Multi-agency federal operations across 8 U.S. host cities logged 145 drone incursions and seized 39 aircraft in the first six days of FIFA World Cup 2026, with criminal charges — including an illegal-reentry case in Atlanta — marking early serious enforcement outcomes.
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Policy & Regulation
New Jersey's 2024 Drone Wave: What Federal Investigators Actually Found
In late 2024, weeks of nightly drone sightings across New Jersey and the Northeast triggered a federal investigation, thousands of public tips, and emergency airspace restrictions—before a four-agency joint statement concluded most reports were misidentified manned aircraft, with no foreign nexus and no national security threat.
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Counter-UAS
Counter-UAS at Airports: Why the U.S. Still Can't Stop a Gatwick-Style Closure
The 2018 Gatwick drone incident cost airlines £50 million and stranded 110,000 passengers — and the perpetrators were never found. Five years on, U.S. airports face hundreds of incursions annually while the FAA still cannot neutralize a drone on its own. Here's how the technology and authority fit together.
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Counter-UAS
Drones Over the Wall: How Aerial Contraband Became a Global Prison Crisis
In a single year, Georgia's Department of Corrections linked drones to $7 million in contraband and 876 confiscated cell phones. Drone sightings at UK prisons rose 770% in four years. This is the legal, technical, and operational battle to stop aerial smuggling — and why it took so long to begin.
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Counter-UAS
Counter-UAS for Stadiums and Mass Events: How the U.S. Closes the Airspace Gap
Federal no-fly zones have covered NFL stadiums for years, but local police could only watch unauthorized drones — not stop them. Here's how the legal authority gap developed, how the World Cup became a live test for the workaround, and what still isn't solved.
