Sponsors (3)
Introduced February 14, 2025 by Cory Mills · Last progress February 14, 2025
The bill improves U.S. ability to counter hostile drones and funds testing and coordination, but it expands interception and disruption powers and waives legal protections in ways that raise substantial privacy, safety, and oversight risks.
Federal diplomatic security personnel and related staff will be authorized to disable or seize hostile drones and to accept interagency or public/private support, giving them faster access to specialized counter‑UAS technology and funding to protect personnel and high‑risk facilities.
Researchers, testers, and trainers will be permitted to conduct counter‑UAS research, testing, and training before operational use, which should reduce accidental airspace incidents and improve the safety and effectiveness of deployed tools.
The bill requires coordination and reporting to agencies (FAA, NTIA, FCC) and to Congress, increasing transparency and oversight about how counter‑UAS authorities affect the national airspace and privacy protections.
Members of the public and others could be subject to interception and electronic disruption without prior consent, combined with broad retention and disclosure exceptions, enabling extended surveillance and raising serious Fourth Amendment and privacy concerns.
Electronic interference or destructive actions against drones risk disrupting civilian aviation, navigation, and critical communications if not perfectly coordinated, potentially endangering public safety and transportation operations.
Waiving or overriding multiple criminal and communications statutes via 'notwithstanding' provisions could curtail legal protections and reduce judicial or congressional checks on executive actions, concentrating power and raising rule‑of‑law concerns.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Authorizes the Secretary of State and designated personnel to detect, disrupt, seize, or destroy UAS posing a credible threat to covered facilities, with testing and FAA coordination and forfeiture rules.
Authorizes the Secretary of State and designated personnel (including Diplomatic Security staff and contractors) to detect, track, warn, disrupt, seize, take control of, or use reasonable force to disable or destroy unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) that pose a credible threat to covered diplomatic facilities or assets. It requires testing and evaluation of counter-UAS tools, coordination with the FAA to avoid air-safety impacts, and makes seized UAS subject to forfeiture to the United States.