Sponsors (5)
The bill aims to improve wildfire response speed and safety (and potentially reduce response costs) by studying UAS interference and countermeasures, but it raises privacy/mission‑creep risks and could prompt additional unquantified public spending.
Firefighters, air and ground crews, and nearby/rural communities: identifying UAS incursions and recommending mitigations plus public-education strategies could reduce aerial firefighting delays and risky UAS operations, enabling faster wildfire suppression and improving responder/public safety.
Taxpayers and federal/local wildfire-response agencies: by diagnosing causes of UAS interference and recommending countermeasures or education, the study could reduce costly operational delays and lower some federal wildfire response expenditures over time.
Local governments and the general public: assessing and recommending deployment of counter-UAS systems risks expanding surveillance/interception capabilities and creating mission creep into other uses, posing privacy and civil‑liberties concerns and creating a need for stronger oversight.
Taxpayers and local governments: implementing counter-UAS systems or launching comprehensive education campaigns could require new, unquantified federal or local spending.
Based on analysis of 2 sections of legislative text.
Requires the FAA, consulting with Interior and Agriculture, to study UAS incursions into wildfire TFRs, estimate impacts on suppression and costs, and evaluate education and counter‑UAS options.
Requires the FAA Administrator, working with the Interior and Agriculture departments, to conduct a study of unmanned aircraft system (UAS) incursions into Temporary Flight Restricted (TFR) airspace established for wildfires. The study must count incursions for the five most recent years that interfered with wildfire suppression, estimate effects on suppression time and federal costs, and evaluate public education and the feasibility of deploying approved counter‑UAS systems; a report with findings and recommendations is due to specified congressional committees within 18 months of enactment.
Introduced December 11, 2025 by Janelle S. Bynum · Last progress March 25, 2026