U.S. officials told a Senate committee on Tuesday that there have been more than 3,000 drone events near American airports since 2021, including 11 aircraft this year that reported taking evasive action to avoid collisions.
Those drone incidents have caused significant flight delays at times near major airports, said Steven Willoughby, a counter drone official with the Homeland Security Department, who told the Senate Judiciary Committee that in two instances drones collided with aircraft conducting critical response operations during emergencies in California and Texas this year.
Officials also raised concerns about the intentional use of drones for attacks, and also at major sporting events. They also point to major upcoming events like the 2026 World Cup.
Of around 90,000 special events annually where the FBI could have had counter drone protection, it was only used in about 0.05% of events, according to testimony from the Department of Justice and the FBI.
“We cover the Super Bowl, right? What about the other 200-plus NFL games that are happening?” Willoughby said. “We can’t be everywhere all the time.”
Sports leagues have also urged Congress to take action. Some tethered drones are used by broadcasters to provide aerial coverage.
Senators and administrative officials said Congress needs to change laws to toughen penalties for drone use and to give federal agencies new expanded authority to address drones that may be used to threaten the public or events.
Congress in 2018 expanded authority of the Justice Department and the Department of Homeland Security to disable or destroy threatening drones and that has been repeatedly temporarily extended.
New legislation would expand federal coverage for airports and critical infrastructure like power plants, oil refineries or chemical facilities and high-risk prisoner transports. It would also allow state and local law enforcement to directly take down drones without waiting for federal authorities.
Senator John Cornyn said “it just strikes me we are woefully unprepared.” Senator Ted Cruz added “drones pose an immediate and growing threat to our national security.”