Five U.S. Agencies Sign a Pact to Speed Counter-Drone Defenses Without Endangering Airliners

Five U.S. Cabinet departments on Monday, Nov. 9, announced a memorandum of understanding meant to speed the evaluation and deployment of counter-drone systems while trying to keep those weapons from interfering with civilian aircraft. The agreement, led by the White House Task Force to Restore American Airspace Sovereignty, was announced by the Department of Transportation, the Department of War, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Energy and the Department of Justice, according to statements from the Pentagon and the Federal Aviation Administration.

What the memorandum says the agencies will do

The departments said they are expanding an interagency process to evaluate counter-unmanned aircraft systems and deploy them “to protect aviation safety and advance national security,” according to the FAA and Pentagon releases, which match in their formal description of the pact. The parties said they will work with the FAA and the Federal Communications Commission when developing systems that detect, track, stop or take control of dangerous or unauthorized drones, and will consider DOT, FAA and FCC requirements and testing data in research, development and assessment.

The FAA said it will review proposed systems and conduct safety risk assessments, share technical data on unsafe conditions and recommend ways to reduce risk. If the agency believes more mitigation is needed, it can impose its own protective measures, including airspace restrictions. The Transportation Department may provide guidance on how the capabilities fit into the broader civilian transportation system.

Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy said the government is “taking a proactive, whole-of-government approach to protecting American airspace from emerging 21st century threats” and that bringing federal partners together would “strengthen our ability to combat rogue drone threats and keep the flying public safe.” FAA Administrator Bryan Bedford said the safety of the National Airspace System is the agency’s “top priority” and that the agreement “establishes a consistent process to ensure counter-drone technologies can be used without compromising aviation safety.”

What officials said about the border, lasers and recent cases

The releases said the effort builds on existing work, including a temporary flight restriction along the southern U.S. border and a completed safety assessment of the Department of War’s high-energy laser counter-drone system. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth said the department is “rapidly fielding cutting-edge capabilities to safeguard our Southern Border and harden critical military installations” and that high-energy lasers “can be deployed rapidly and safely alongside civilian aviation.” He also said the approach would keep American airspace “sovereign, secure, and impenetrable,” a political claim, not a technical finding in the announcement.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said the action would “help counter cartel drone threats, protect our personnel, and strengthen security in the airspace above the border.” Energy Secretary Chris Wright said the coordination was aimed at protecting energy infrastructure and “the nation’s most vital assets.” Those are the officials’ descriptions of the threat and of the pact’s purpose; the memorandum itself, as summarized in the releases, is a coordination and safety-review process, not a public tally of drones stopped at the border.

Attorney General Todd Blanche said that “this summer, the FBI arrested five men accused of planning to deploy drones armed with explosives in and around a White House event that attracted thousands of visitors.” FBI Director Kash Patel said the bureau “protected Americans from drone threats at the FIFA World Cup,” working with state and local officers trained at what he called a National Counter-UAS Training Center, and “seizing over 700 drones during the World Cup.” Those statements are attributed to Blanche and Patel in the official releases. The announcements do not name the five men, identify the White House event, or itemize the 700 drones, and they should not be read as courtroom findings.

How this fits other recent counter-drone work

The memorandum is a domestic airspace and interagency-process story, not a new combat deployment. It sits alongside other recent counter-drone activity by federal agencies, including a counter-UAS drill at MacDill Air Force Base in which the Secret Service and the Air Force tested drone interceptors. The Trump administration has also been funding unmanned and counter-drone industry through other channels, including last week’s Office of Strategic Capital loans to drone, radar and battery companies.

The FAA has already been processing such requests. Liam McKenna of the FAA told Reuters, in a dispatch published by Al Jazeera, that the agency has approved more than 1,000 coordination requests with the Pentagon and the Department of Homeland Security on counter-drone deployments. “There are many systems that some of the security agencies are considering using that we’ve seen before, and we can turn around the process in 24 hours,” he said. Al Jazeera, citing the FAA, also said that last month the agency barred unauthorized drones along the entire U.S.-Mexico border, with a temporary flight restriction up to 400 feet (122 meters) above ground and extending one nautical mile (1.8 kilometers) north of the border.

The Nov. 9 pact does not, on the terms published Monday, authorize a new weapon, set a deployment schedule, or change criminal law. It describes how the five departments, the FAA and the FCC are supposed to share requirements, test data and safety reviews so that counter-drone tools can be introduced without creating hazards for airliners and navigation equipment. Whether that process shortens the time it takes to field systems will depend on later decisions the announcement does not record.

Sources

• U.S. Department of War: Trump Administration Deepens Interagency Collaboration to Protect the Nation’s Skies From Unmanned Threats (Nov. 9, 2026)
• Federal Aviation Administration: Trump Administration Deepens Interagency Collaboration to Protect the Nation’s Skies From Unmanned Threats (Nov. 9, 2026)
• Al Jazeera: US agencies unite to combat rogue drone threats nationwide (Nov. 9, 2026)