Security Integrators Need to Invest in Critical Infrastructure Airspace Surveillance Now
It has been twenty months since drones popped into the commercial consciousness, when two days of unauthorized drone activity grounded the world’s busiest single runway airport, Gatwick. The intervening period has revealed how challenging it is to reconcile conflicting market objectives with current law and regulation - allowing drone use to flourish within a framework that establishes permissible surveillance and threat mitigation for trespassing unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
An important milestone was reached on April 13th when the Office of the U.S. Attorney General of the Department of Justice (DOJ) issued a memorandum: Guidance Regarding Department Activities to Protect Certain Facilities or Assets from Unmanned Aircraft and Unmanned Aircraft Systems. It outlines how to reconcile security considerations with aircraft safety and GPS/wireless service integrity. DOJ components can evaluate and seek approval to use sophisticated surveillance and mitigation capabilities.