Drones are no longer simply toys for hobbyists and for cameras in the sky — they’re real threats to public safety and large-scale security, experts tell Axios.
Why it matters: U.S. leaders are pushing for hostile drone defense programs across the country, including in Kansas City, where police are using military-grade tech and working with federal law enforcement to patrol the air.
Flashback: In February, KC leaders announced the city received $14 million from a federal grant designed to protect the public from hostile drones, part of funding to beef up World Cup security.
- The Kansas City Police Department has since been equipped with sensors that can alert authorities when a drone enters restricted airspace, and radio guns that can disrupt drone signals, stop them in their tracks and force them to land.
The latest: The FBI reported that 22 drones have been detected as of Thursday in no-fly zones in Kansas City since the start of the tournament.
- The result: 16 drones seized, at least five federal criminal citations and one person arrested with outstanding warrants. The FBI declined to comment on the nature of the citations.
- “The airspace security effort is a coordinated operation involving multiple local, state, and federal partners,” KCPD captain Jake Becchina tells Axios.
What they’re saying: Security is no longer just “gates, guns and guards,” says Tom Adams, director of public safety at DroneShield, the company behind KC’s defense system.
- We’re in a “new era” of homeland security, added Adams, who used to work for the FBI’s counter-drone team for events including the Super Bowl.
Threat level: “It’s very, very scary,” Reshmi Mitra, a professor at Southeast Missouri State and drone defense researcher for the National Security Administration, tells Axios.
- The U.S. hasn’t seen a drone attack like those used in wars overseas. Still, she says, it would be very easy for someone to attempt one.
- “The easiest way for the World Cup to go wrong would be a security incident,” U.S. Travel Association CEO Geoff Freeman said Tuesday during a Visit KC panel.
Yes, but: The federal government has been “very proactive” in preparing its drone defenses, Mitra tells Axios…