Drones, Detection, and the Race to Protect Our Skies

A Conversation with Counter-UAS Expert Bill Edwards

How do we protect commercial airliners from the threat of unmanned aerial systems (UAS)? In a recent episode of the Air Line Pilot Podcast, Capt. Jason Ambrosi, ALPA’s president, spoke with Col. Bill Edwards, director of counter-UAS operations at ENSCO, about the rapidly growing drone threat to the national airspace and what it will take to counter it.

In February, Edwards discussed this topic during ALPA’s Cargo Symposium, addressing the evolution of small UAS driven by global conflicts, the scale of drone detections near U.S. airports, and how the limited number of detection and mitigation authorities have constrained responses.

Listen to the interview now on your favorite podcast platform or keep reading for an abridged version.

Ambrosi: Can you tell us a little bit about yourself?

Edwards: I retired from the military in 2018 after a fairly long career, most of it spent in tactical organizations. I did multiple tours, commanding a battalion in Iraq from 2010 to 2011. Following some advanced schooling, I worked with U.S. Special Operations Command and later as a director of intelligence for a Theater Special Operations Command.

While serving as a commander in Iraq, I flew small drones as part of my mission. I was assigned to a shadow platform operating the ISR model—an intelligence surveillance reconnaissance drone.

Ambrosi: Why are drones such a big threat?

Edwards: The evolution of the small drone has been advancing because of conflicts across the globe. We’ve seen its use in the Middle East where its development moved at a rapid pace. By 2015, some of the bad actors in that region were starting to experiment with drones as a precision strike capability.

However, small drone usage really took off in Ukraine with the development of small robotics, not just limited to aerial uses. We’ve seen ground robotics, as well as for aquatic, surface, and subsurface applications. But the version that really caught my attention was the aerial platform and the degree that it’s evolved for precision strikes.

Ambrosi: During ALPA’s recent Cargo Symposium, you shared some really enlightening numbers related to a study you conducted at several U.S. airports. In Miami, for example, over a period of less than two years, there were approximately 18,000 drones in the surrounding airspace.

Edwards: Yeah, it’s what we would categorize as “known detections.” Pilots need to understand how real this threat is, and it’s something we need to tackle soon.

According to U.S. government websites, there are 800,000 to 900,000 registered users, and there’s no real mechanism in place to force registration for these platforms once they’re purchased. Even the really small recreational drones don’t require a pilot’s license.

Ambrosi: Circling back to those massive numbers—like 18,000 drones in Miami or 6,000 in Seattle—that’s not even all of them. Those are just the ones that are detectable. How aren’t we running into these things on a daily basis?

Edwards: These observances are known detections. However, the system used to identify drones isn’t a full-spectrum radio-frequency detector because the use of this kind of device isn’t technically allowed in this country.

When you see the number of total known detections, you probably need to multiply that figure by two or three to really understand how many drones are in actual operation at a particular location.

Ambrosi: So whether it’s a sporting event or other critical infrastructure, such as an airport, how many of these facilities are getting the support they need?

Edwards: That’s a great question because I recently read a statistic from 2018 indicating that of the 121,000 requests for drone detection and mitigation across the country, 77 actually received support.

Ambrosi: Just how available are drones? Can anybody get one?

Edwards: Yes, we could buy one right now. We could stop this podcast and access a commercial website. I purchased one on a Friday, and it arrived at my house that Sunday. I set it up, including the biometrics to recognize my face. I then put it in flight mode, and it followed me as I walked my dog.

The technology built into these platforms is sophisticated and may come with obstacle-avoidance detection. Just a few years ago, this level of operation would’ve been considered military grade.

Ambrosi: Let’s talk about bad actors operating drones. What improper uses do we face today?

Edwards: Going back to 2017, we can trace what people were using small drones for. Someone with nefarious intent can access social media for all kinds of ideas. For example, you can watch someone in New Hampshire who has attached a release mechanism use a drone to drop eggs on the homeless. In another example, you can watch someone in New Jersey drop what appears to be food coloring into neighborhood swimming pools, making the water turn green and yellow. These pranks give you a sense of what a drone is capable of.

Ambrosi: What prevention or detection techniques are available?

Edwards: Drones are viewed by the FAA in much the same way as aircraft when it comes to safety. What we’re subsequently advocating for is a holistic, protective approach to critical infrastructure in this country, which includes airports, water and power utilities, military installations, etc. We need the right detection sensors and mitigation tools. We also need the legal authority to detect and neutralize rogue or errant drones.

The Safer Skies Act, which was passed last December, started the process to delegate the mitigation of drones to our state and local law enforcement agencies. The caveat is that these individuals must be certified and trained by the federal government before they can use this type of equipment—so we have a long way to go.

Ambrosi: How many of our airports and other public facilities are currently protected?

Edwards: Unless it’s a Department of Defense or a Department of Homeland Security [DHS] facility, or a Special Program for Embassy Augmentation and Response (SPEAR) event, which is a special event designated by the DHS, it receives no protection. For example, World Series or Super Bowl games are normally treated as SPEAR One events, warranting protection because of their popularity and attendance levels.

As I mentioned, the Safer Skies legislation gave us some breathing room to train and certify law enforcement organizations. However, one organization is responsible for the training and certification, so logically there’s a capacity issue.

Ambrosi: How realistic is it to assume that we can mitigate this threat in a reasonable period of time?

Edwards: It really depends on how far we’re willing to go, to trust our security, safety, and emergency preparedness professionals to make the kinds of decisions I mentioned earlier. I just published an article on the common operating picture. In the military version of the common operating picture, you have a visualization from all the data layers collected by a sensor.

You have radio frequency, radar, and optical sensors visually telling you where that drone is, in terms of time and space. The aviation industry needs something comparable so that it can respond in a period that allows you to avoid or neutralize the drone before it’s on you.

Ambrosi: At ALPA, we have many pilot volunteers serving as either airport safety liaisons working with airport administrators or members of UAS and other related committees. Is there anything they can do to try to bring greater awareness to these issues?

Edwards: I’m glad you have that kind of presence in the airline and airport ecosystem. It really starts with education and training. You can educate different groups about what’s happening in the small-drone world. Encourage airports to conduct drone vulnerability and risk assessments and incorporate these activities into their routine security and safety programs.

Urge airports to create safe zones around their facilities as well as drone emergency response plans—standard operating procedures for responding to drone events. This includes synchronizing and coordinating activities based on an understanding of drone capabilities and detection technologies, conducting a real-world assessment at an airport with security professionals to really understand what your airport’s drone threat is, and identifying specific vulnerabilities and how to best mitigate risk.

Ambrosi: Is there anything we can do as pilots on the flight deck?

Edwards: Number one is awareness. Be aware that there’s potentially these small drones or these types of platforms in the airspace where you are.

Off the flight deck, talk to federal policy makers about the dangers and steps we can take. We have to put the tools in the hands of professionals who routinely do this kind of work to help maintain security and safety and again encourage airports to conduct routine threat and vulnerability risk assessments.