House Homeland Security subcommittee hears industry calls to expand counter‑drone authorities

The House Homeland Security Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security held a hearing on drone warfare tactics used abroad and how those tactics are reshaping threats to the U.S. homeland, with industry witnesses urging Congress to expand authorities, funding, and training for detection and mitigation systems.

The hearing focused on the rapid proliferation of small unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in conflicts such as Ukraine and the Middle East and the risk that techniques, tactics and commercially available components can be adapted by terrorists, lone actors or state proxies inside the United States. Chairman Jimenez opened the session by warning that "We cannot afford to be reactive. The time to act is now." He and several members cited recent incidents — including unauthorized drone activity near airports, the July flood response in Texas where a privately operated drone struck a rescue helicopter, and repeated sightings over New Jersey — as evidence of growing domestic risk.

Industry witnesses presented both capability assessments and policy recommendations. Church Hutton, chief growth officer at AeroVironment, said the defense industrial base has tools and experience from overseas deployments and warned: "Collectively, we'll either address these issues now before we suffer a major drone attack in the homeland, or we'll address them afterward." Tom Walker, chief executive officer of DroneUp, urged…