The Blue Ribbon Task Force on UAS Mitigation at Airports, commissioned by AUVSI and the Airports Council International-North America (ACI-NA), released its final report today and recommended that federal governments should work with airports to fight drone incursions and get additional funding to help accomplish that.
 
The task force also says there is an "urgent need" for the Federal Aviation Administration and Transport Canada to establish drone detection standards and that local law enforcement has a role to play, beginning with a pilot program to demonstrate how that would work.
 
The group, co-chaired by former FAA Administrator Michael Huerta and Deborah Flint, CEO of Los Angeles World Airports, released an interim report in July and has now built off that for the final report, which made its debut at events at Los Angeles International Airport and at the National Press Club in Washington.
 
"Unauthorized UAS have great potential to disrupt operations and the threat of intrusions introduces substantial risk highlighting the need for solutions that can safeguard airports from rogue UAS," the report says.
 
Remote i.d. 'foundational'
 
It notes that a pending FAA rule on remote identification — scheduled for release in September but now delayed until late December — is "a foundational regulation needed for technological solutions to work and the basis for other important rulemaking ... this regulatory hurdle continues to block progress on opportunities for the safe and successful integration of UAS into the national airspace."
 
AUVSI President and CEO Brian Wynne appeared at a National Press Club luncheon along with ACI-NA President and CEO Kevin Burke and said remote identification would immediately help with the problem of drone incursions.
 
"Being able to identify what's going on out there is key," Wynne said. ... It simply allows us, by exception, to focus on what might be the problem," as drones that can't be identified are more likely to be up to no good.
 
Most airport incursion incidents are caused by the "careless or clueless," and the task force reiterates that "the importance of the ability to remotely identify and track these operators cannot be understated, as it would significantly reduce UAS incidents caused by the largest group of violators."
 
Beyond that, the report says airports shouldn't be burdened with the task of reducing incursions alone.
 
"Instead, as with many other operations at airports, such as airport security, UAS detection should be a shared responsibility between airports and federal governments," the report says. ... Without a robust federal role, an unacceptable security gap will continue to exist at many airports across the U.S. and Canada."
 
Funding needed
 
That will cost money, and the report says in the United States, Congress should provide "appropriate resources on a consistent basis" so they can take the lead in monitoring UAS traffic in and around airports, although it does not specify an amount.
 
Burke said the money is critical, although he said getting it from Congress will be a challenge, considering the multiyear FAA authorization has already been approved and the congressional calendar is in its waning days.
 
"The later we go, the thinner the options get," he said. "That doesn't mean we can't try."
 
The task force also "recommends Congress in the U.S. and Cabinet in Canada also consider new funding sources for airports to test, acquire, deploy, staff and maintain DTI [detection, tracking and identification] technology. The AIP grant program in the U.S. and the Airports Capital Assistance Program in Canada are already underfunded to support the infrastructure needs of airports today."
 
There is also a role for state and local law enforcement, the report says. The Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice have already demonstrated counter UAS technologies, but "federal authorities alone simply do not have the resources or manpower to accomplish this mission on a daily basis at airports across the country," the report says.
 
Local law enforcement doesn't have the authority or resources to mitigate rogue drones in real time, but federal action would likely be too slow to help, the report says.
 
"This presents a major security gap and a vulnerability to our respective national securities that must be addressed."
 
The task force concludes that the U.S. and Canada should extend the authority to engage in "kinetic or electronic" drone interdiction — that is, shooting them down or jamming them — to trained state and local police or the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.
 
This new authority should begin with a pilot program in both countries, at six airports at least, to set up protocols, training and practice exercises.

Below: Burke, left, and Wynne discuss the task force report at the National Press Club. Photo: AUVSI