The Pentagon’s counter-drone task force is preparing a live-fire “shoot-off” this December to test high-energy laser and high-power microwave weapons against unmanned aircraft, even as the Department of Homeland Security moves forward with a new legal framework letting state, local, tribal and territorial police take on drone detection and mitigation duties long reserved for federal agencies.
JIATF-401 Sets a December Shoot-Off at Yuma Proving Ground
Joint Interagency Task Force 401 (JIATF-401), the Pentagon’s counter-unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) task force led by Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, is organizing a competitive shoot-off at the Army’s Yuma Proving Ground in Arizona in December 2026. The event will pit commercial directed-energy systems, including submissions from new entrants to the defense market, against drone targets. “What we’re really focused on right now is high-energy lasers and then high-power microwaves,” Ross said, describing the two weapon classes under evaluation. Companies whose systems perform well stand to receive purchase orders to stand up production lines.
The shoot-off builds on a directed-energy pilot program JIATF-401 already operates at five military installations: Fort Huachuca, Arizona; Fort Bliss, Texas; Naval Base Kitsap, Washington; Grand Forks Air Force Base, North Dakota; and Whiteman Air Force Base, Missouri.
DHS Opens Counter-Drone Authority to Local Police
Separately, the Department of Homeland Security is implementing the SAFER SKIES Act, enacted as part of the fiscal year 2026 National Defense Authorization Act (Public Law 119-60) and codified at 6 U.S.C. § 124n. The law establishes a two-tier certification framework that, for the first time, extends federal counter-UAS authority to state, local, tribal and territorial (SLTT) law enforcement and correctional agencies:
- Detection and warning (lower tier): agencies may detect, identify, monitor, track and warn UAS operators using approved technology after completing an online certification.
- Mitigation (higher tier): agencies may disrupt, disable, seize control of, or destroy a UAS using reasonable force, but only after resident training at the FBI’s National Counter-UAS Training Center.
All authorized operations still require a documented credible threat, compliance with privacy safeguards, real-time notification to air traffic control, and a report to federal authorities within 48 hours. Steven A. Willoughby, DHS’s acting executive director for the Program Executive Office for Drones and Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems, is overseeing the department’s side of the rollout.
The World Cup Became the Proving Ground
Officials are pointing to this summer’s FIFA World Cup as the case study driving the push to hand more counter-drone capability to local agencies. An FAA-led effort backed by the FBI and DHS seized more than 700 unauthorized drones during the tournament, using nearly 250 temporary flight restrictions across the 11 U.S. host cities. “The FBI and our partners stood up a counter-drone effort unlike anything we have done before … that preparation is why we took down over 700 drones,” FBI Director Kash Patel said of the operation, which combined federal and local Ground Intercept Teams at stadiums, fan festivals, team hotels and training sites.
What Commercial Pilots Should Expect
As directed-energy systems move toward fielding and mitigation authority spreads to local police, Part 107 pilots operating in urban areas, public-safety drone coordinators and critical infrastructure operators should expect heightened detection and active-mitigation activity near events, stadiums and sensitive sites. Operators are advised to verify airspace status through the FAA’s DroneZone and LAANC systems before every flight, maintain continuous Remote ID broadcasting, and coordinate directly with facility security before flying near industrial or critical infrastructure.
Sources
- U.S. military to host directed energy ‘shoot-off’ amid governmentwide counter-drone push — DefenseScoop, August 21, 2026
- Pentagon counter-drone task force preps ‘shoot-off’ for directed energy prototypes — Breaking Defense, August 24, 2026
- Counter-UAS Authority for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Law Enforcement and Correctional Agencies — Federal Register, July 6, 2026
- Successful Counter-Drone Efforts Helped Keep Millions of Fans Safe During FIFA World Cup 2026, With More Than 700 Drones Seized — Federal Aviation Administration
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