Playing Defense

Uncertain Regulations Stall the Implementation of Counter-UAS Technology in The U.S.

In early September 2019, a radical environmentalist group called “Heathrow Pause” threatened to shut down Heathrow Airport in the UK by flying drones within the airport's no-fly zone to call attention to climate change. Some Heathrow Pause members were arrested the day before their previously announced fly-date (9/13) and on the day itself their drones were unable to take off, electronically jammed by the authorities.

The protest represents a new wrinkle in the fast-moving world of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) use and integration. As previous drone-induced airport disruptions at Heathrow and Gatwick in the UK and at Newark Airport, New Jersey in the U.S. demonstrate, society will need to prevent as well as facilitate drone use in daily life.