Federal agencies that want to jam, track or take control of rogue drones over U.S. soil now have a single interagency process for testing and fielding that equipment, and the Federal Aviation Administration gets a formal checkpoint to make sure it does not put passenger aircraft at risk. The departments of Defense, Transportation, Homeland Security, Energy and Justice signed a new memorandum of understanding that outlines a more unified federal process to test and deploy counter-drone technologies in the U.S., DefenseScoop reported from a joint press release published Monday, Nov. 9. The agreement arrives as the government responds to a surge in unauthorized drone incursions over military bases and sensitive national security sites, including Fort McNair in Washington, D.C.
The White House Task Force to Restore American Airspace Sovereignty led the MOU, according to the release. President Donald Trump created that task force last year through an executive order that set formal policy for protecting critical infrastructure, mass gathering events and military and sensitive government installations from careless or unlawful drone use.
How the Five-Department MOU Puts the FAA in the Loop
The central problem the agreement tries to solve is spectrum and airspace collateral damage. Stopping a drone with jamming and similar tools can disrupt the radars, communications and GPS that commercial airliners and other transportation assets depend on. A counter-UAS system that works on a test range can create real hazards near an airport or along a busy flight corridor.
Under the MOU, the five departments will work with the FAA and the Federal Communications Commission as they develop and integrate systems that track, monitor or take control of dangerous drones. The release spells out the FAA's role in some detail. "The FAA will quickly review and conduct safety risk assessments of proposed systems to make sure safety protocols and airspace deconfliction measures are adequate," officials wrote. The FAA will also supply technical data showing any unsafe conditions along with recommended ways to reduce risk, and "If the FAA believes additional risk mitigation is needed it can implement its own protective measures, including restricting airspace."
The joint statement framed the deal as a coordination fix. "Through this whole-of-government approach, the agencies are strengthening collaboration to adapt to the latest drone threats while ensuring these technologies do not adversely affect aircraft operations or navigation equipment," officials wrote.
Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth, quoted in the announcement, said the department has "demonstrated on the Southern Border that next-generation counter-drone defenses, including high-energy lasers, can be deployed rapidly and safely alongside civilian aviation."
What the Agencies Have Not Released
The public record on the agreement is thin. The agencies did not publish the text of the signed memorandum. When DefenseScoop asked for the document and for more on what prompted the agreement, a Pentagon spokesperson said the department had "nothing further to add beyond the release at this time."
That leaves open questions that matter to anyone building or selling counter-drone equipment: how long FAA reviews will take in practice, what documentation a proposing agency must submit, whether the FCC's role covers spectrum authorization for specific jamming or takeover systems, and how the Energy Department fits into the shared process. The release describes the FAA's review as quick, but it does not set a timeline.
Why DHS Says Today's Counter-Drone Systems Won't Scale
At the Commercial Drone Alliance's Drone Security Industry and SLTT Grant Forum on Monday, Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin pressed industry on cost as much as capability, FedScoop reported. "You’re not going to make the system you have right now work," Mullin said. "You need to stop and rethink what you have completely [and] that needs to be economically feasible, too."
Mullin pointed to one of the one-way attack drones DHS currently uses, which carries a production price tag of $40,000 and is designed to crash directly into its target, so it cannot be reused. "If you think a $40,000 one-way attack drone that only has one use is going to be economically feasible … we’re kidding ourselves to think it is going to work," he said. He added that drone swarms, in particular, pose a challenge for existing one-way attack drone options.
Mullin also predicted that the midterm elections, in which Democrats gained control of the House and Senate, would not derail counter-drone work. "For the most part, I think the people that sit on the committees that are relevant, they see the vulnerabilities," he said. Drone security legislation has drawn bipartisan support, including efforts to expand drone defense authorities to state and local law enforcement.
FedScoop noted that DHS struggled with counter-drone measures around the FIFA World Cup this summer, and that the FBI cannot keep pace with demand for its counter-drone training center.
How the FBI Is Planning for Payloads and Swarms
The FBI is drafting a national response plan built around worst-case scenarios. "We are building a counter-UAS mitigation plan for this country that accounts for the worst possible utilization of a drone — which is having a payload — explosive, or biological, chemical," said Devin Kowalski, assistant director of the FBI's Critical Incident Response Group, at a media roundtable during the forum. He said the plan also covers the panic a drone could trigger at a large-scale event.
"The FBI has absolutely thought about a swarm attack," Kowalski said. He noted that law enforcement operates under different authorities than the Defense Department, and that the bureau works with partners on best practices, lessons learned and available technologies within those limits.
Those authority differences are part of why a shared testing and deployment process matters. Equipment the military fields at a base may face different legal and safety constraints when a federal law enforcement team wants to use it at a stadium, and the MOU brings the FAA into the review of proposed systems either way.
What It Means for Contractors
Vendors of counter-UAS sensors, jammers, cyber-takeover tools and directed-energy systems should plan for FAA safety risk assessments and airspace deconfliction to become a common step before domestic deployment with the participating departments, though the MOU text is not public and the exact requirements are unknown. Proposals that arrive with spectrum-impact data, interference testing near navigation equipment and clear deconfliction procedures will likely move faster than those that treat civil aviation safety as an afterthought.
Mullin's remarks also signal pricing pressure. DHS leadership is openly questioning the economics of a $40,000 single-use attack drone, which favors reusable interceptors, low-cost-per-engagement options such as the high-energy lasers Hegseth cited, and architectures that can handle swarms without spending one expensive munition per target. Small businesses with affordable detection or mitigation technology may find a receptive audience, particularly given the forum's focus on SLTT grant theme.
Because the MOU text is not public, firms should watch for follow-on guidance from the White House task force, the FAA and the participating departments describing submission requirements and review timelines before building compliance plans around specific assumptions.
