National Training Center for Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act
The National Training Center for Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act would add new provisions to the Homeland Security Act of 2002 to create a formal framework for training related to counter-UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) activities. Specifically, it authorizes the Attorney General, in coordination with the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers, to provide training and to establish or designate facilities for counter-UAS training. It also requires the Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General, working with the Administrator of the FAA, to set standards for initial and recurring training or certifications for individuals who operate counter-UAS detection and mitigation systems. The bill emphasizes aviation safety and airspace considerations, interagency coordination before deployment, and a defined renewal cadence for operator training. It would also add new defined terms and make a clerical update to the Homeland Security Act’s table of contents. In short, the bill seeks to professionalize and standardize who can operate counter-UAS detection/mitigation equipment, how they are trained, where training occurs, and how deployment decisions are coordinated across federal agencies, with a focus on aviation safety and airspace impacts.
Key Points
- 1Establishes counter-UAS training and training centers: The Attorney General, in coordination with DHS (through the Director of the Federal Law Enforcement Training Centers), may provide counter-UAS training and establish or designate training facilities for this purpose.
- 2Standards for operator qualification and training: The Secretary of Homeland Security and the Attorney General, in coordination with the FAA Administrator, must establish standards for initial and recurrent training or certifications for individuals who operate counter-UAS detection and mitigation systems, equipment, or technology.
- 3Aviation safety and airspace considerations: The training standards implementation must account for aviation safety, civil aviation and aerospace operations, aircraft airworthiness, and civilian use of airspace, as determined by the FAA Administrator.
- 4Interagency coordination and renewal requirements: Before deploying counter-UAS systems, there must be interagency coordination, and the bill requires establishing how often operators must complete and renew their training or certification.
- 5Definitions and clerical updates: The bill provides or references defined terms for UAS, unmanned aircraft, and unmanned aircraft system per relevant U.S. Code (49 U.S.C. 44801), and makes a clerical amendment to the Homeland Security Act’s table of contents to insert the new sections.