Sheri Biggs Warns Drones Have Been Spotted Over Nuclear Plants And Airports 'In Multiple States'

Forbes Breaking News

During a House Homeland Security Committee hearing on Tuesday, Rep. Sheri Biggs (R-SC) spoke about drone sightings over high-value infrastructure.

Transcript

00:00Thank you, gentlemen from New York. I now recognize the gentleman from South Carolina, Ms. Biggs.

00:08Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The FAA has reported over one million registered unmanned aircraft

00:16systems, more commonly known as drones, as of April 2025, with many more believed to be

00:22unregistered. Unauthorized drone incursions are increasing in frequency, particularly

00:29in proximity to sensitive sites, such as military installations, nuclear power plants, which we just

00:36mentioned, and airports. Between 2022 and 2024, North American Aerospace Defense Command and the

00:45Department of Defense documented more than 600 unauthorized drone overflights of U.S. military

00:52facilities. Public reporting has also noted concerning incidents near critical infrastructure,

01:00such as the appearance of low-altitude drones over nuclear facilities and near commercial airport

01:06perimeters in multiple states. So I think all of you are perfectly capable of answering my question,

01:14so I'll just leave it open. But my first question is, what are some of the direct impacts of unauthorized

01:21drone overflights at military facilities, airports and maritime ports? And specifically for airports

01:30and maritime ports, could you explain the potential, the cascading effects that such incidents could

01:37or may have regionally or even nationwide?

01:43Well, I'm happy to take that question, Congresswoman, and thank you very much.

01:46I think first and foremost, obviously there's, with each incident, the potential for there being some

01:51sort of a catastrophic event. Thankfully, as mentioned, we haven't seen that in the United

01:55States as yet, but we have seen it overseas as the topic of this overall hearing, how drone warfare

02:01abroad is changing, you know, the situation at home. But even without those catastrophic events,

02:08each time one of these incidents occurs, it erodes public trust as well.

02:11It also damages the public perception around the positive utility of drones. AUVSI, we represent

02:19companies that focus on, you know, the defense against drones, but we also represent, you know,

02:23dozens of drone operators that are doing, you know, life-saving critical missions every day,

02:28whether it's for public safety or package delivery or other really important things for our economy

02:32and public safety. All of that could go away if there's a very, you know, a terrible drone incident

02:38that occurs in the United States. And again, as we've talked about today, this is no longer a

02:42technology problem. The technology is in place. These three companies, as well as others,

02:47all have the ability to offer the protection to all the different sites that you listed.

02:52But Congress hasn't updated the rules since 2018. Obviously, the landscape and the threat

02:57environment has changed dramatically. And it's incumbent upon you, as lawmakers, to give, you know,

03:03federal officials more authorities to be able to delegate those authorities with proper training and

03:07oversight, the local state and local state police as well. I think there's, I think there's two

03:13things to add back on there. And I think one of it is, is really kind of a lexicon we've had for a

03:18while. We should get rid of careless and clueless, just like a vehicle on the road in our highways,

03:23you either drive it legally or you drive it illegally. And the enforcement aspect of that needs to be

03:29understood. I think also, when we say counter drone or counter UAS, I think sometimes that's a misnomer.

03:36Again, these systems provide air domain awareness. They are a safety tool. More than anything else,

03:42they provide safety to the general public to any of the events that we have. The security element is

03:47there in mitigation, which is also necessary. It's making sure that you have the exact tools that

03:52you need to enforce what crimes are being committed, and then take appropriate action through judicial

03:58process. Thank you so much for your insight. Mr. Walker, I have a quick question for you.

04:03From an industry perspective, what are the most effective tools available today to detect and

04:10neutralize these threats before they cause harm? And are private operators and owners

04:17of critical infrastructure equipped to use them?

04:23That's a very good question. And so, first, you have to understand that there are a variety of

04:28technologies out there from RF detection, acoustic. We could go down the list of the various different

04:35ways to detect these devices. Everybody's technology is in everybody's systems and amalgamation of various

04:40different groups of those technologies. But no, not everybody has the availability of that. And I've

04:46spoken with multiple law enforcement agencies who don't even know these technologies exist,

04:51much less have access to them. So, I think back to what everybody here has been saying. First off,

04:58do we need to give, and I really appreciate him pointing out that I think there's a fear about

05:04delegating counter UAS authority down to certain agencies because everybody just assumes that that

05:09means we're going to be, you know, shooting down drones or taking down drones. And that's not necessarily the

05:13case. It is the identification of whether or not these are hostile or non-hostile. There's, again,

05:19we haven't, we've said it enough, but I'm going to say it one more time. It's not a technology problem.

05:23They exist. Do the appropriate law enforcement agencies at all various different levels have

05:28access to these technologies? They don't, and they don't have access to the training for them either.

05:33So, there's, there's a lot Congress can do to help make the situation a lot better and fast.

05:47You

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