Joe Biden administration seeks more power to counter use of drones in US

White House plan calls for expansion of agencies that can track and monitor unmanned aerial vehicles

This handout photo made available by the Iranian Army press office shows a military drone flying above an undisclosed location in Iran during a military exercise. AFP Photo / HO / Iranian Army Office

President Joe Biden's administration is calling on Congress to expand authority for federal and local governments to take action to counter the nefarious use of drones in the US due to increased concerns over security as well as the nuisance they can cause.

The White House on Monday released an action plan that calls for expanding the number of agencies that can track and monitor drones flying in their airspace. It calls for establishing a list of US government-authorised detection equipment that federal and local authorities can purchase and creating a national training centre to counter the malicious use of drones.

The White House in a statement said it was critical that Congress “adopt legislation to close critical gaps in existing law and policy that currently impede government and law enforcement from protecting the American people and our vital security interests”.

The federal governmentwide focus comes as the Federal Aviation Administration projects that more than two million drones will be in circulation in the US by 2024 and as availability of detection and mitigation technologies — including jamming systems — are limited under current law.

The White House plan calls for expanding existing counter-drone authorities for the departments of Homeland Security, Justice, Defence and Energy as well as the CIA and Nasa in limited situations.

The proposal also seeks to expand drone detection authorities for state, local, territorial and tribal law enforcement agencies and critical infrastructure owners and operators.

It calls for establishing a six-year pilot programme for a small number of state, local, territorial and tribal law enforcement agencies to take part in a drone detection and mitigation operation under the supervision of the Justice Department and Homeland Security.

Currently, no state or local agencies have such authorisation.

American sailors move a US Navy X-47B unmanned combat air system demonstrator on to an elevator aboard the aircraft carrier ‘USS George H.W. Bush’ in the Atlantic Ocean. The ship was the first to successfully catapult-launch an unmanned aircraft from its flight deck. Photo: US Navy

An RQ-4 Global Hawk unmanned aircraft like the one shown is currently flying non-military mapping missions over South America, Central America and the Caribbean at the request of partner nations in the region. Photo: US Air Force / Bobbi Zapka

A still image, taken from a video footage released by Russia's Defence Ministry, shows a Russian Altius-U military long-range unmanned aerial vehicle during a test flight at an unknown location. Photo: Ministry of Defence of the Russian Federation / Handout via Reuters

The first joint flight of a Sukhoi S-70 Okhotnik heavy unmanned combat aerial vehicle and a Sukhoi Su-57 jet fighter. As part of a testing programme, Okhotnik has performed a fully unmanned flight into an airborne alert area. Photo: Russian Defence Ministry / Tass

A screengrab of an S-70 unmanned combat air vehicle.

The Lockheed Martin SR-72, sometimes called Son of Blackbird, is a US hypersonic UAV drone intended for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Photo: Lockheed Martin

A team of 12th Aircraft Maintenance Unit Airmen walk beside an RQ-4 Global Hawk drone. EPA

An X-47B pilot-less drone is launched for the first time off an aircraft carrier, the USS George H. W. Bush, in the Atlantic Ocean off the coast of Virginia.

Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said the administration's legislative recommendations “are vital to enabling DHS and our partners to have the necessary authorities and tools to protect the public, the president and other senior officials, federal facilities and US critical infrastructure from threats posed by the malicious and illicit use” of drones.

In the US, drones have become increasingly ubiquitous and useful tools for law enforcement agencies as well as for agricultural use, commercial photography and hobbyists. But there are growing concerns over their use.

In January 2019, Newark Liberty International Airport halted all landings and diverted planes for more than an hour after a potential drone sighting. Smugglers have used drones to deliver illegal drugs into the country. In 2015, there were two separate incidents in which drones crashed on White House grounds.

Federal and local authorities say that drones have also been used to smuggle contraband, including mobile phones and drugs, into prisons.

National security officials have also found the use of drones in last November's unsuccessful assassination attempt against Iraqi Prime Minister Mustafa Al Kadhimi and an August 2018 attack on Venezuelan President Nicholas Maduro “quite troubling”, said a senior administration official who briefed reporters on the condition of anonymity before Monday's formal announcement.

The counter-drone plan calls for establishing a mechanism to co-ordinate research, development, testing, and the evaluation of detection and mitigation technology across the federal government.

The White House says it also wants to work with Congress to enact a criminal statute that sets standards for the illegal uses of drones, and bolster co-operation with other countries on counter-drone technologies.

'Pink-Footed Geese Meeting the Winter', Levanger (Norway), by Terje Kolaas, winner of Drone Photo Awards 2021. Thousands of pink-footed geese roost in central Norway in spring, on their way to the breeding grounds on Svalbard in the Arctics.

'Metaphorical Statement About City and Winter', Dzerzhinsky, Moscow Region (Russia), by Sergei Poletaev, first place in the Urban category. A 500-year-old monastery in the Moscow region and a large power plant in the background. The steam from the cooling towers is particularly dense due to severe frost.

'Gold at the End of the Rainbow', Western Australia, by Phil De Glanville, first place in the Sports category. In the photo, surfer Ollie Henry is seen escaping a monster wave off the coast of south-west Western Australia.

'Extragalactic', Iceland, by Martin Sanchez, first place in the Nature category. The intense and glorious moments during an erupting volcano with an exclusive view from the inside are captured in Iceland.

'Back to Adventure', Oman, by Qasim Al Farsi, first place in the Wildlife category. A green turtle heads back to the water after laying eggs in her peaceful nest, on the Oman coastline between Ras Al Jinz and Rashad turtle reserve.

'Fishing in Mangrove Forest', Hue (Vietnam), by Trung Pham Huy, first place in the People category. A fisherman starts his day in the mangrove forest in the lagoon of Tam Giang in the Hue province.

'Poisoned River', Geamana, Transylvania, (Romania), by Gheorghe Popa, first place in the Abstract category. This is a detailed photograph of one of the small rivers filled with poison.

'Verso l'Infinito Insieme a Te', Marina di Pisa (Italy), by Matteo Originale, first place in the Wedding category. Di Pisa said about the photo: '[On] a late summer evening at sunset ... I spotted those clouds on the horizon and I decided to place the couple towards their infinity full of love.'

'City In the Sky', Dubai (UAE), by Hugo Healy. Commended in the Urban category. About the shot, Healy said: 'A foggy morning in Downtown Dubai. Very rare conditions, caused by the cold nights and warm mornings, creating the perfect scene for an aerial photo. The buildings of Dubai emerging out of the low clouds creating an impression that the city is floating in the sky.'

'Correlation', Hamedan (Iran), by Amirmahdi Najafloo Shahpar, highly commended in the People category. Muslim men and women in Hamedan, Iran pray for Eid Al Fitr.

'The Kingdom Centre', Riyadh (Saudi Arabia), by George Steinmetz, runner-up in the Urban category. Standing more than 300 metres high, the Kingdom Centre was the tallest skyscraper in Saudi Arabia when completed in 2002.

'Space Invaders', The Dead Sea (Israel), by Gilad Topaz, highly commended in the Urban category. The shot captures white parasols at a beach on the Dead Sea.

'Planet Marina', Dubai (UAE), by Aravind Appadurai Kannan, commended in the Urban category.