In recent weeks, mysterious drone sightings have raised alarms across the United States, particularly along the East Coast. Reports of unauthorized drones near airports, critical infrastructure, and even high-profile events have prompted calls for action. Stewart International Airport in New York temporarily shut down its runways after a drone was spotted in the area, causing significant disruptions. Similarly, multiple drones have been reported over New Jersey’s Naval Weapons Station Earle, raising security concerns. These incidents have taken on a life of their own, fueling intense speculation and even outlandish claims. Some accuse the government of a cover up, while others suggest extraterrestrial involvement, turning social media into a frenzy of conspiracy theories. Meanwhile, frustrated onlookers have proposed extreme solutions like deploying bird-hunting falcons or outfitting commercial jets with anti-drone lasers.
Amid the chaos, one persistent suggestion stands out: “Just shoot them down.” However, the U.S. military has explained that this approach is neither simple nor feasible due to safety risks, legal constraints, and the potential for unintended consequences. The reality is that the situation has become so bizarre that it’s capturing the attention—and imagination—of people nationwide. While we ultimately expect a reasonable and rational explanation for these drone incursions, the frenzy highlights a glaring need for smarter, more proactive solutions that can help us get to the bottom of such incidents faster.
The Growing Importance—and Potential Risks—of Drones
Drones are here to stay, providing immense value for our future. From delivering medical supplies and supporting emergency response to transforming industrial inspections, drones offer innovation that touches almost every sector. However, these benefits come with risks. Unauthorized or improperly managed drones can disrupt critical infrastructure, airports, and national security operations. The recent events highlight just how essential it is to enforce secure, controlled drone usage while enabling innovation
Wireless connectivity is at the core of every drone operation. Drones primarily rely on unlicensed spectrum bands, such as 2.4 GHz and 5 GHz, for command, control, and data transmission. Unlike licensed spectrum, unlicensed bands are open to anyone without the need for individual licenses. This accessibility enables consumers to use wireless connected products, like drones, without regulatory hurdles. The key advantages of unlicensed spectrum—low-cost access and fast product development—have fueled innovation, allowing new services and technologies to enter the market quickly. However, while these bands are widely available, they lack the robust security measures. Unlicensed connectivity is ideal for simple, low-risk devices like smart appliances and wearables. But drones are far more complex. They are sophisticated systems capable of causing significant harm—whether through accidents, negligence, or malicious intent. And as generative AI continues to enhance drone capabilities, these risks will multiply exponentially, amplifying the need for more secure and reliable spectrum solutions.
Managing Spectrum Access: A Smarter, Scalable Solution
So, how do we encourage innovation while protecting lives, property, and critical infrastructure? The answer lies in managing the airwaves that act as the nerve center controlling drones. Managed spectrum access provides proven guardrails for spectrum usage, ensuring that only authorized devices can operate. By enforcing compliance and enabling anomaly detection, we can manage disruptions effectively and eliminate problems caused by compliant drones. This proactive approach not only complements other network infrastructure techniques but also allows targeted, heavy-duty security measures to focus solely on rogue drones.
The solution is already here, built on proven systems that power the Citizens Broadband Radio Service (CBRS) ecosystem. Over seven years of innovation and public-private collaboration have produced a coordinated shared spectrum system, driven by the CBRS Spectrum Access System (SAS). The same technology can be extended to drone operations to provide robust, scalable security.
The CBRS SAS provides dynamic, real-time spectrum management and includes critical features uniquely suited to secure drone operations:
- Device Registration and Authentication: Every drone must register and authenticate before accessing spectrum, creating a digital fingerprint for easy identification and oversight.
- Dynamic Revocation of Spectrum Access: If a drone violates regulations, behaves suspiciously, or causes interference, its spectrum access can be revoked instantly—grounding it without physical intervention.
- Anomaly Handling: Managed spectrum ensures effective disruption management. By removing uncertainties in spectrum access, anomalies caused by rogue drones can be rapidly identified and mitigated.
The FCC’s Recent Action on Drone Spectrum: Progress Made, But Faster Action Needed
The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) recently took a significant step with its recent Report and Order on drone operations in the 5 GHz band, establishing what they termed a Drone Frequency Management System (DFMS). While this is a positive step forward, it’s important to recognize that a DFMS is essentially a SAS by another name. Rather than reinventing the wheel, the FCC could accelerate progress by extending the use of existing, proven SAS technology—as seen in the CBRS ecosystem—to drone spectrum management. The technology already exists and has been tested at scale. What we need now is a faster path to implementation not reinventing the wheel.
I commend the FCC for the progress made with its recent Report and Order on drone operations in the 5 GHz band and the establishment of the Drone Frequency Management System (DFMS). This is a significant step forward for drone spectrum management. However, I am concerned that we may be creating unnecessary effort by reinventing the wheel when proven solutions already exist.
The functionality envisioned for the DFMS largely aligns with the capabilities of the Spectrum Access System (SAS), which has already been demonstrated at scale. At Federated Wireless, we’ve shown how managed spectrum solutions can extend to drone operations through our collaboration with AURA Network Systems. Together, we’ve advanced managed spectrum access to support critical Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations, ensuring reliable, scalable, and secure drone communications.
These efforts highlight how spectrum access guardrails enable safe and seamless drone operations, even in complex environments. With managed spectrum access, compliance becomes the baseline, allowing government agencies to focus resources on addressing credible threats. At the same time, it ensures that legitimate drone traffic can scale efficiently while maintaining operational security. Without automated spectrum management, achieving this scale simply wouldn’t be possible.
By building on proven SAS technology, we can accelerate progress, avoid duplicative efforts, and create a clear path forward for drone operations. Combining managed spectrum access with advancements in AI and automation will unlock the full potential of drone ecosystems while ensuring security, safety, and scalability.
Targeted Solutions and a Secure, Scalable Future for Drone Operations
Implementing managed spectrum access as the first line of defense allows more intensive countermeasures—such as jammers or physical interdiction—to be reserved for rogue drones that intentionally bypass safeguards. This targeted approach improves response times, minimizes disruptions, and conserves public resources.
Transitioning to a managed spectrum framework will require close collaboration among regulators, industry stakeholders, and technology leaders, but the foundation is already in place. The success of CBRS and proven solutions like the SAS framework demonstrate that this vision is not only achievable but ready for deployment. Managed spectrum access ensures efficient, fair, and optimized use of airwaves, enabling scalability without compromising security.
By creating automated guardrails for compliant drones, we can reduce risks, facilitate innovation, and build a secure, resilient drone ecosystem. It’s time to rethink how we secure the skies—not with reactive measures like jammers or shoot-down orders, but with smarter spectrum management. The FCC’s recent actions are a step in the right direction, but we must avoid reinventing the wheel.
The tools we need are already here. The proven success of CBRS and managed spectrum access shows that we can secure drone operations safely, responsibly, and at scale. By moving faster and paving the way for commercial solutions to reach the market, we can unlock a safer, more innovative airspace for everyone. The path forward is clear—let’s take the next step.
