Draft Legislation Circulated To Several Committees Would Let The Federal Government Track And Destroy Drones

A draft bill making the rounds in among several Congressional Committees would give the federal government the ability to track, take control of, and if necessary destroy any drone it deems might be a security threat.

The language is part of the National Defense Authorization Act, according to a report from Dronelife.com. The draft legislation would give the federal government the right to:

• Detect, identify, monitor, or track, without prior consent, an unmanned aircraft system…or payload, or cargo, to evaluate whether it poses a threat to the safety or security of a covered facility, location… including by means of interception of or other access to wire, oral, electronic, or radio communications or signals.
• Redirect, disable, disrupt control of, exercise control of, seize, or confiscate, without prior consent, an unmanned aircraft system.
• Use reasonable force to disable, disrupt, damage, or destroy an unmanned aircraft system.
• Conduct research, testing, training on, and evaluation of any equipment including any electronic equipment, to determine its capability and utility.

Details of the National Defense Authorization Act have not been made public. The drone language was leaked to the New York Times. According to the document, the legislation is a response to threats posed by UAVs to Public Safety or Homeland Security. An analysis of the legislation included with the bill text states:

"Unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) are commercially available, challenging to detect and mitigate, and capable of carrying harmful payloads and performing surveillance while evading traditional ground security measures. However, some of the most promising technical countermeasures for detecting and mitigating UAS may be construed to be illegal under certain laws that were passed when UAS were unforeseen.

"These laws include statutes governing electronic communications, access to protected computers, and interference with civil aircraft. Potential liability under such laws restricts innovation, evaluation, and operational use of technical countermeasures that can address the unique public safety and homeland security threats posed by UAS while minimizing collateral risk.

“The proposed legislation provides a savings clause under title 18, United States Code, for authorized development or use of such countermeasures. This legislation provides that development or use of countermeasures against UAS must be pursuant to a coordinated, government-wide policy."

(Image from file)

FMI: Draft Legislation