FBI to deploy counter‑drone teams, bomb technicians and SWAT at city venues

An agency official from the Federal Bureau of Investigation said the agency will deploy dedicated investigative teams, ground‑intercept counter‑drone units, special agent bomb technicians and SWAT to support state and local partners at venues across the city.

The official said the deployments are aimed at detecting and mitigating aerial and other threats around public venues. "These will be dedicated teams focused on drone detection, drone mitigation ..." the agency official said, adding that the counter‑drone mission is an area "the FBI has really leaned into aggressively with our partners to identify and mitigate potential threats from drones."

The official described a sizable operations‑center footprint where intelligence personnel will process incoming information. "Our intelligence personnel [will be] ingesting the tips, the leads, the information from the public, from social media, making sure that we have eyes where we need them to be and then, more importantly, pushing that information back out to the folks who are on the ground to address and deal with any potential threats that may present at any one of the venues," the agency official said.

The briefing also highlighted specialized on‑site capabilities. The official said the FBI has "specialized capabilities through our special agent bomb tech program," who will work with partners to identify and interrogate suspicious packages. The official added that the FBI's SWAT team will be available to support state and local partners "in the event of some critical incident."

The official did not specify how many teams will be deployed, exact timelines, or which city venues will be prioritized. Policy decisions, approval processes and local coordination efforts were described as matters for ongoing operational planning between the FBI and its state and local partners.