Drone defense specialist, Fortem Technologies, Inc., has announced that it is partnering with state, local, and federal police departments around the world to mitigate criminal and terrorist drone threats in urban areas, at crowded venues, and outdoor events.
A recent survey of Chiefs of Police across the U.S. conducted by Fortem Technologies reveals that 79% of respondents ranked public events as the most “at risk” for drone threats, followed by stadium events, then universities and campuses. When asked if their departments were appropriately equipped with tools and resources to effectively handle a drone attack, 78.6% responded “no.”
“It’s tough to predict whether a drone operator has careless, clueless, or criminal intent from a distance, and because of that, we need to be prepared for the worst case scenario,” said Timothy Bean, CEO at Fortem Technologies. “The regulations here in the United States are different from those in other countries, which means that while our domestic customers are using our solution to build a counter-UAS foundation to stay ahead of the threat, our international customers are already able to use our end-to-end solution that covers both the detection and the mitigation.”
“We’ve seen the threat of drones evolve and mature over the last few years, and with the growing number of drones entering our airspace at record rates, we need to take this problem seriously,” said DJ Smith, technical surveillance agent with the Virginia State Police. “Legislation has yet to be granted to local, state, and tribal law enforcement agencies to mitigate drone threats. Until that happens, it is critical for these agencies to deploy drone detection and tracking technology to start forming the foundation of a layered approach to effective and safe drone mitigation.”
Fortem is currently working with a major national police service in North America that provides law enforcement at the federal level, one of the top three largest police departments in the United States, the central coordinating agency of law enforcement in situations of national emergency in Asia, and more. Police departments will be using Fortem’s SkyDome System, an end-to-end counter UAS solution that detects, defeats, and protects against dangerous drones, equipped with the DroneHunter, Fortem’s autonomous interceptor drone, to secure the airspace in areas such as sports stadiums, public events, and more.
On March 4, 2021, Sen. Mike Lee (R-Utah) introduced the Drone Integration and Zoning Act (DIZA), a bill that seeks to balance the competing airspace authorities between the federal government and the states by more clearly defining the boundaries of the Federal Aviation Administration’s authority over the air as well as the proper scope of regulatory authority that federal and state governments exercise over drones operating in the U.S.
