Nationwide CUAS Working Group Re-Engagement

National CUAS Working Group Members,

I wanted to reach out to get this group moving again since we are finally seeing positive movement again in Washington D.C. around Expanded Authorities, Grants for CUAS Technology, and Legislation.  This group’s primary goal is to keep you updated on current events taking place within the CUAS space as it relates to the SLTT, Industrial base, and Critical Infrastructure communities. DRONERESPONDERS has always served our communities to share best practices, policies, and lessons learned and this will continue in the CUAS space. It will often also serve as a call to action when needed to head off bad or inadequate legislation but more importantly it will serve to bring all of our collective voices together around specific or geographical pain points involving drone incursions or expand our ability to keep our Communities, States, and the Homeland safe.  Many of you have heard me say repeatedly that although the pain points & solutions surrounding drone flight and incursions are the same, they tend to vary across the country in scope and need.  By that I mean that everyone’s airspace & critical infrastructure base is different with some states having higher concentrations of government facilities, industrial base, sports facilities, or critical infrastructure than others, but the needed solutions are similar although they may vary in size, scope, and deployment size. Some areas will need more relief than others, but the goal is to multiply our voice to legislators at the state & federal level, leadership, and IN our communities so that they understand we (SLTT) are the force multiplier for the Homeland.

Throughout 2025 myself, Sergeant Robert Dooley with Florida Patrol, and several others have testified several times in the U.S. House and Senate on legislation surrounding CUAS but unfortunately that has not produced any meaningful movement for the SLTT or critical infrastructure communities.  Current legislation at the federal level this year has all but stalled with much of the recent drafts being a regression to similar legislation from 3-4 years ago that included things like an ineffective pilot program, which the realized threats currently present, is absolutely too little too late.  We are way past a pilot program and need to expedite the ability to do meanilnful & actionable Detect, Track, Identify (DTI) operations as soon as possible.  The rapid increase in the capability of this technology requires solutions that are of sufficient scope and implementation size to get out ahead of the growing threat. One of the main messages that the SLTT Community has been communicating to Congress is that the implementation of Remote ID and the requirement for a drone pilot to transmit their information and location (which contains "0" PII), the bar for getting a legislative carveout to intercept all signals aloft has diminished and should ALLOW intercept of all signals to create a common operating picture without the need for a carveout. 

As you all know the current administration in DC is very dialed in to the threat and is absolutely invested in getting tools and solutions into the hands of the first responders to start addressing the existing threats posed by drones.  Earlier this month the White House reached out to DRONERESPONDERS and the Commercial Drone Alliance to put together an event on the CUAS grant opportunities for the $500 Million dollars included in President Trumps EO in two separate that is available to the SLTT law enforcement community. The first $250M to support FIFA 2026 World Cup, the AMERICA 250^th and the National Capitol Region for 2026.  The second $250M will be available for the larger SLTT community with grant guidance forthcoming at a later date. The Counter UAS Industry and Grant Forum was co-sponsored by the White House FIFA World Cup Task Force, DRONERESPONDERS and the Commercial Drone Alliance and organized in only ten days. 

DRONERESPONDERS gives a huge shout out to Deputy Chief Mike Lighthiser for his leadership and support of this event at George Mason University that quickly grew to over 550 attendees.  This event was held to explain the process of how the FIFA 26 host cities and other designated venues will apply for a portion of the initial $250 million dollars to support CUAS activities.

DRONERESPONDERS serves as a means to get everyone on the same page on CUAS issues, grant funding and use this Working Group to get everyone ready to stand up & stand tall and make our collective voices heard.  As always if you have any questions or have any issues, don't hesitate to reach out. Also feel free to share this with others. 

If this email has reached you and you are no longer the point person for your agency or organization, please let me know so that we can update our membership list.

Stay Safe Everyone,

DJ Smith

Deputy Director CUAS

Djsmith@DroneResponders.org

If you are not a member and would like to join, please send me an email.