U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Michael Aguilar, members of Joint Interagency Task Force 401 and the Federal Aviation Administration, and key leaders from White Sands Missile Range, N.M., support a high-energy laser test using the AMP-HEL system March 7, 2026. (Courtesy Photo)
“Following a thorough, data-informed Safety Risk Assessment, we determined that these systems do not present an increased risk to the flying public,” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said.
An Electronic Advanced Ground Launcher System (EAGLS) counter-UAS fires an Advanced Precision Kill Weapon System (APKWS) Hydra 70 rocket during an Exercise Sky Shield live-fire event in Kuwait, Dec. 4, 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Joseph Kumzak)
Earlier this week, Joint Interagency Task Force 401 said it had committed more than $600 million in unmanned aerial system defenses for Operation Epic Fury and stateside…
A quadcopter drone hovers in an indoor training area on Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, Alaska, Jan 28, 2026. Many small, commercially availabe drones come equipped with high-definition camers and can be programmed to automatically transmit data to adversaries. (U.S. Air Force photo by Airman 1st Class Theodore Gowdy)
Drone incursions over stateside military bases and other restricted areas have been widespread in recent years as commercially available systems proliferate.
U.S. Army Maj. Gen. Michael Aguilar, members of Joint Interagency Task Force 401 and the Federal Aviation Administration, and key leaders from White Sands Missile Range, N.M., support a high-energy laser test using the AMP-HEL system March 7, 2026. (Courtesy Photo)
JIATF 401 and the FAA, along with about half a dozen other agencies, conducted the test between March 7-8, an evaluation fast-tracked by back-to-back incidents involving counter-drone…
This photograph shows the Anduril logo on display during the 55th edition of the International Paris Air Show (Salon international de l’aeronautique et de l’espace – SIAE) at the Paris–Le Bourget Airport, in Le Bourget, north of Paris on June 19, 2025. (Photo by Thibaud MORITZ / AFP/ via Getty Images)
Its guidance for uniform, data-backed testing and an acknowledgment of privacy protections related to UAS employment in the U.S. comes amid keen public interest over counter-drone systems,…
A view of the entrance of White Sands Missile Range where Trinity test site is located, near White Sands, New Mexico on February 21, 2024. (Photo by VALERIE MACON/AFP via Getty Images)
The announcement comes after lawmakers from both parties criticized interagency coordination over the use of domestic counter-drone technology in the wake of back-to-back incidents in Texas last…
Fragments of Shahed drones are found at the sites of Russian strikes in Kharkiv, Ukraine, on September 19, 2025 (Photo by Viacheslav Madiievskyi/Ukrinform/NurPhoto via Getty Images).
A Soldier assigned to 3rd Battalion, 75th Ranger Regiment employs lethal small unmanned aerial systems during a visit with Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth at Fort Benning, Georgia on Sept. 4, 2025. (DVIDS — Photo by Spc. Luke Sullivan)
A U.S. Soldier, assigned to 277th Maintenance Support Company, Task Force Badger, surveys the southern border at Del Rio, Texas, March 6, 2025. (U.S. Army photo by Sgt. Walker Pino)
A senior defense official, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told DefenseScoop Wednesday that the Pentagon’s counter-drone entity — known as Joint Interagency Task Force 401 —…
