While drones do help with getting some amazing photos and videos from a high-up perspective, there’s a time and place for them. For example flying them near an airport is obviously a big no-no not only for security reasons, but for safety reasons as well. We know that the FAA has been looking at different ways to detecting drones and recently they might have borrowed some tech from the FBI.According to the FAA, earlier this month the organization borrowed the FBI’s drone detect tool and employed it at the JFK airport. They then tested its effectiveness through 40 different and separate tests involving 5 different rotorcraft and fixed wing UAS, although they did not share how successful they were, but either way it does indicate that the FAA is taking this very seriously.
The FAA’s Senior Advisor on UAS Integration Marke “Hoot” Gibson said, “We face many difficult challenges as we integrate rapidly evolving UAS technology into our complex and highly regulated airspace. This effort at JFK reflects everyone’s commitment to safety.”
Thomas Bosco, Port Authority Aviation Director added, “We applaud the FBI and FAA for their efforts to detect and track unmanned aerial systems (UAS). We look forward to supporting continued U.S. Government efforts to identify and deploy countermeasures to neutralize the threat posed by rogue UASs.”
Right now drone registration is mandatory in the US which should hopefully add some accountability to drone pilots, and in turn deter any irresponsible behavior, but either way we guess having a drone detection system in place probably wouldn’t hurt either.