The FBI’s work in Huntsville plays a key role in countering drone threats, Sen. Katie Britt and an FBI supervisory special agent for UAS said Tuesday (July 22).
The United States faces increasing attacks from drones. There have been more than 3,000 drone incidents near U.S. airports since 2021, and in the last six months of 2024, more than 27,000 drones were detected near the southern border, a homeland security official told the Senate Judiciary Committee Tuesday during a hearing on drones.
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Britt touted how Huntsville’s capabilities are critical to helping prevent drone attacks.
“We know Redstone Arsenal is the epicenter of the FBI’s technology, the capabilities and advanced training and that we’re going to play a central role in the FBI’s strategy to combat these evolving threats of drones by providing technological infrastructure and training facilities necessary to develop and implement effective counter UAS strategies,” Britt said during the hearing.
Micheal Torphy, unit chief/supervisory special agent of UAS and counter UAS at the FBI in Huntsville, said Redstone’s interconnectedness with other law enforcement and military branches contributes to the agency’s ability to create and maintain advanced technology.
“It’s about having that proximity to the other important parties in this space, and not just the Army, but with the other armed forces as well,” Torphy said.
Drone detection capabilities
In response to Britt’s question on what authorities the FBI needs to address drone threats, Torphy said local law enforcement agencies also need drone detection capabilities to ensure airspaces across the country are being monitored for potential drone attacks.
As law enforcement officials prepare for crowds at upcoming large events like the FIFA World Cup in 2026 or the Olympics in 2028, Britt asked if current laws are sufficient for the agencies to be able to counter drones at those events.
Director of Counter-UAS Program Management at the Homeland Security Department Steven Willoughby emphasized that federal agencies are only able to cover a small fraction of mass gathering events across the country. That’s why he echoed Torphy’s need for local partners to be able to get involved when countering drones.
“We’ll never have enough federal agents to go out and protect every NFL game, every MLB game, which means we need to rely on…. state and local (partners) as these force multipliers out there,” Willoughby said.
In 2018, Congress authorized the Department of Homeland Security and the Department of Justice to counter credible threats posed by drones; that authority has been temporarily extended throughout the years.
EDITOR’S NOTE — This story was written by Alex Angle and originally published by Alabama Daily News.
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