PORT CHARLOTTE, Fla. The counter-drone agreement five federal departments signed Monday spells out one goal in plain words. Secretary of War Pete Hegseth said in the official announcement that the Pentagon is fielding new defenses to “harden critical military installations.” What the agreement does not do matters just as much for the people who live and work on those bases: it brings no new money, grants no new legal authority, names no approved systems and sets no deployment timetable, according to a review of the agreement by DroneLife.
So this is a process, not a fence line full of lasers. It sets who tests a counter-drone system, who signs off on it, and when the Federal Aviation Administration can step in and close airspace. We pieced together the nine months that led here, from an airport shutdown in Texas to Monday’s signing, using the official releases and Reuters reporting.
What the counter-drone agreement actually does
The memorandum of understanding was announced by the Departments of Transportation, War, Homeland Security, Energy and Justice, and it was led by the White House Task Force to Restore American Airspace Sovereignty, according to the Department of War’s release. Reuters described the memo as signed by four departments and did not list Homeland Security. The release names all five, and Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin is quoted in it.
Under the agreement, the agencies will work with the FAA and the Federal Communications Commission when they build systems that detect, track, stop or take control of drones. They will share technical requirements, field test results and data. The FAA will review proposed systems and run safety risk assessments. If it decides more protection is needed, the release says, it “can implement its own protective measures, including restricting airspace.”
The speed claim comes from the FAA. Senior FAA official Liam McKenna told Reuters the agency has approved more than 1,000 counter-drone coordinations with the Pentagon and Homeland Security, and that for systems it has already evaluated, “we can turn around the process in 24 hours.”
Nine months from El Paso to Monday
The agreement is the latest step in a fight between agencies that went public in February. That month the FAA halted flights at El Paso, Texas, after Customs and Border Protection used a Pentagon laser counter-drone system without an FAA safety review, Reuters reported. The order was set for 10 days. The White House stepped in and the FAA lifted it after about eight hours. Days later, the military shot down a CBP drone with the laser, and the FAA widened the no-fly area around Fort Hancock, Texas.
In April, the FAA and the Pentagon signed a safety agreement on the high-energy laser after an assessment found it did not pose undue risk to passenger aircraft. In October, the FAA barred unauthorized drones along the entire U.S.-Mexico border, up to 400 feet and 1 nautical mile north of the line.
The threats officials point to
The Pentagon counts more than 1,000 drone incursions a month along the southern border, according to Reuters, and officials say Mexican cartels use drones to drop drugs and scout smuggling routes. Mullin said the agreement “will help counter cartel drone threats.”
Two other officials pointed past the border. Attorney General Todd Blanche said the FBI arrested five men this summer who are accused of planning to fly drones armed with explosives in and around a White House event. They are presumed innocent unless proven guilty. FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau seized more than 700 drones during the FIFA World Cup.
Drones over U.S. bases are not a new worry for the military. Last month we reported on why U.S. bombers left RAF Fairford over an Iranian drone threat, and our National Security coverage has followed the border drone fight.
What base families and nearby pilots should watch
The part of this agreement most people will feel is the FAA’s power to restrict airspace. If a new counter-drone system goes up near a base, the likely public sign is a temporary flight restriction. Drone hobbyists, crop dusters and private pilots who fly near Florida’s military installations should check FAA notices before they fly.
Watch for three things next: which systems the FAA clears first, whether Congress funds base defenses in the next defense bill, and who signs for the Pentagon. Hegseth’s statement came the same day he told reporters he was ready to defend his record against an impeachment resolution Rep. Thomas Massie is trying to force to a House vote, Reuters reported. We covered the talk of who could replace him last week.
I spent 20 years in aerospace manufacturing, and the first rule there is simple: nothing flies, and nothing gets pointed at the sky, until somebody signs off on the test data. El Paso is what happens when agencies skip that step, so I’m glad somebody finally wrote the sign-off process down. But a memo is not a laser on a fence line. If the Pentagon wants bases hardened, show the funding and the timeline, and tell the families who live next to the flight line what is coming.
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Rocci J. Stucci is the founder and CEO of Stucci Media and host of The Rocci Stucci Show.
