The FBI plans to expand counter-drone training for state, local, tribal and territorial law enforcement agencies as new federal powers take effect, officials said at a media roundtable at the Drone Security Industry and SLTT Grant Forum in Maryland on 9 November.
Fewer than 100 people graduated from the FBI's National Counter-UAS Training Center last year. This year it plans 10 classes of 32 participants each, for a yearly capacity of about 320. More agencies also need to finish accreditation before they can send staff to the training on stopping drones.
The SAFER SKIES Act, part of the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act, gave eligible state and local law enforcement and correctional agencies powers to counter drones, and the rules putting it into effect started on 1 July 2026. The FBI said these agencies had carried out about 60 counter-drone operations with federal support since July.
Officials said the drones found during security operations had generally shown no sign of harmful intent. “We don’t want the cure to be worse than the disease,” one official said, about choosing responses that do not create new risks for nearby communities.
Background
Federal Bureau of Investigation
Law enforcement agency
The US federal agency that trains state and local law enforcement agencies in counter-drone mitigation.
National Counter-UAS Training Center
Training centre
The FBI's centre that trains public safety personnel in counter-drone mitigation.
SAFER SKIES Act
US law
A US law, enacted as part of the FY2026 National Defense Authorization Act, that expanded counter-drone authority to eligible state and local law enforcement and correctional agencies.
