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Audit Initiated of FAA’s Oversight of Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems

Requested by the Ranking Members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and its Subcommittee on Aviation
Project ID: 
20A3007A000
Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS), often referred to as drones, serve diverse sectors of the economy such as entertainment and recreation, agriculture, real-estate, and local and Federal government. However, their unauthorized use can pose safety and security threats. As such, private industry has developed technologies, referred to as counter-UAS, to detect, monitor, and track UAS. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is responsible for coordinating with other Federal agencies to ensure that UAS technology does not adversely affect aviation safety. Further, the FAA Reauthorization Act of 2018 requires FAA to develop a plan for certifying and authorizing counter-UAS systems. The Ranking Members of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure and its Subcommittee on Aviation requested that we assess FAA’s coordination with other agencies pertaining to counter-UAS. Accordingly, our audit objectives will be to assess (1) FAA’s process for coordinating with other Federal agencies to implement and issue guidance on the use of counter-UAS technologies and (2) strategies undertaken by FAA to ensure that the use of counter-UAS technologies by other agencies do not adversely affect aviation and aerospace safety.