Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin on Wednesday acknowledged that the agency is still playing catch-up when it comes to countering drones, even as the threat tops the agency’s list of concerns ahead of major events like the upcoming FIFA World Cup.
“We have spent a tremendous amount of ability and money to be able to be very offensive with drones, but on the counter-drone measures, everybody’s a little behind,” Mullin said in response to a lawmaker’s question about the World Cup during a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on the agency’s budget request.
While the government has made significant progress, unauthorized drones continue to regularly penetrate restricted airspace around high profile venues, Mullin said. For example, Mullin revealed that during the Miami Grand Prix F1 Race last month, eight drones entered restricted airspace and were intercepted, allowing authorities to identify the operators and make arrests in some cases. At the April Masters golf tournament in Augusta, Georgia, officials detected and neutralized 12 drones that violated a temporary no-fly zone, he added.
“Drones are my biggest concern. … Every single day, we improve,” Mullin said. “But that is a huge concern that we have.”
Safety officials are concerned about a range of potential drone threats, from nuisance flights that interrupt a soccer match to more serious attacks that put crowds at risk of injury, like a dirty bomb. The first World Cup match in the U.S. is June 12.
Mullin isn’t the only federal official to acknowledge the hurdles authorities face in countering drones. In April, Secret Service Director Sean Curran told lawmakers that his agency was having a tough time acquiring counter-drone technology, faulting “supply chain issues” while noting that the agency spent more than $100 million in the past year and a half to get up to speed.
A range of issues, including gaps in drone-tracking and mitigation capabilities, a two-month Homeland Security shutdown that set back preparations and recently granted drone authorities that remain unfamiliar to many officials, have hurt the government’s ability to get ahead of potential drone threats.
To assist, in December FEMA announced a $250 million grant would go to 11 states hosting the World Cup and to Washington to prepare for the United States’ 250th anniversary.
Mullin on Wednesday said all 11 World Cup venues have been equipped with counter-drone systems, with multiple federal agencies sharing responsibility for protecting stadiums.
“We have a lot of partnership with our local law enforcement that is going to be out there” to make areas as secure as it can, he added.