DHS tests counter-drone mitigation technology with state and local law enforcement

TLDR

• DHS's Science and Technology Directorate, through its National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL), ran a week-long field assessment letting state and local first responders test commercially available counter-drone mitigation systems against real drones under operational conditions.¹²
• The testing follows the SAFER SKIES Act, part of the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which extends certain counter-drone authorities to qualified state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement and corrections agencies.¹
• A joint DHS and Department of Justice interim final rule took effect 1 July, setting requirements for agencies using the new authority: training and certification, approved technologies, airspace coordination, reporting, and privacy protections.¹
• NUSTL Director Alice Hong said the lab tests technology "under operational conditions to ensure that it's suitable for" first responders' operations before they deploy it.¹

DHS's Science and Technology Directorate ran a week-long assessment through its National Urban Security Technology Laboratory, bringing in first responders from around the country to test commercially available counter-drone systems against drones under operational conditions.¹² The testing focused specifically on mitigation technology, meaning systems that disable or bring down a drone, rather than detection alone.¹

The assessment follows the SAFER SKIES Act, included in the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act, which extends certain counter-drone authorities to qualified state, local, tribal, and territorial law enforcement and corrections agencies.¹ A joint DHS and Department of Justice interim final rule took effect on 1 July, laying out requirements agencies must meet to use that authority, including training and certification, approved technologies, airspace coordination, reporting, and privacy protections.¹ The framework draws a line between detection-and-warning authority and the separate, more tightly controlled authority to mitigate a drone, and agencies cannot disable a drone at will: they must meet federal requirements and secure authorization first.¹²

NUSTL Director Alice Hong said: "If first responders are going to deploy a technology, we'll test it under operational conditions to ensure that it's suitable for their operations."¹ DHS says the testing is intended to prepare agencies for upcoming federal counter-drone procurement grants.¹

Why it matters: the SAFER SKIES Act and its implementing rule gave local agencies new legal authority to counter drones, but authority without validated, suitable equipment is of limited use; this testing is DHS's attempt to close that gap before agencies start spending federal grant money on systems that may not hold up under real operating conditions.

Footnotes

1. DRONELIFE, "DHS Tests Counter-Drone Technology With State and Local Law Enforcement," https://dronelife.com/2026/10/02/dhs-counter-drone-testing-law-enforcement/ ↩ ↩² ↩³ ↩⁴ ↩⁵ ↩⁶ ↩⁷ ↩⁸ ↩⁹ ↩¹⁰ ↩¹¹

2. Homeland Security Today, "DHS S&T Tests Counter-Drone Technology With State and Local Law Enforcement," https://www.hstoday.us/subject-matter-areas/unmanned-vehicles/dhs-st-tests-counter-drone-technology-with-state-and-local-law-enforcement/ ↩ ↩² ↩³