U.S. airports are “completely blind” and unprepared for the increasing possibility of drone disruptions or attacks, blocked by the federal government and hobbled by unclear regulatory authority from immediately beefing up defenses, a yearlong investigation by the Hearst Television National Investigative Unit has found.With approximately 1 billion passengers expected to transit through American airports this year, the lack of an established approval process, unclear lines of responsibility for airport aerial defense, and nonexistent federal funding for procurement present a gaping hole in the safety of the U.S. transportation system, a review of government documents and interviews with aviation officials, regulators and private vendors shows.The stark realization comes as the Federal Aviation Administration is currently observing its first-ever National Drone Safety Awareness Week, which seeks to raise awareness of the safe operation of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) within American airspace, mostly by hobbyists. READ THE BLUE RIBBON TASK FORCE REPORT ON UAS MITIGATION HEREDrones ‘clear and present risk’ to airportsDrone sightings around airports in the United States have soared in the past five years, according to data analyzed and animated by the Hearst Television National Investigative Unit.Each quarter, the Federal Aviation Administration publishes reports of unmanned aircraft sightings near airplanes, helicopters and airports. The FAA catalogs those reports by date, city and state. The map above details the number of reported sightings by city, according to the FAA databases. It includes 8,410 reported UAS sightings from Nov. 2014 to June 2019. It includes only reports from the continental United States.Reports that didn’t include a city, state or both were not mapped. When the name of an airport or Air Force base was given instead of the city, the report was credited to the largest city in the area or closest city to the base.Since 2014, the number of drone sightings across the U.S. has soared – along with the potential for disruption or disaster.There were just 42 sightings in 2014 of drones deemed unauthorized or a possible danger to aviation facilities; by 2018, there were 2,261, according to FAA data analyzed by the National Investigative Unit. The cities with the most sightings, in order, were New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Miami, Orlando, Dallas and Atlanta.The FAA estimates 2.4 million drones will be in the skies above the U.S. within the next three years.In the past 12 months, suspected drone sightings have shut down commercial flights and delayed passengers at major global airports, such as Newark Liberty International Airport in the New York City region and Gatwick Airport outside London.A single wayward or malicious drone represents “a clear and present risk to airport operations,” Angela Gittens, director general of Airport Council International World, warned in October. The International Civil Aviation Organization proclaimed earlier this year that the rise in drone-related disruptions to aviation due to “unauthorized and reckless” use “requires effective detection and counter measures” at airports.‘We’re completely blind’Standing next to the fourth-story railing in front the slanted glass atop the San Luis Obispo County Airport control tower in California, airport director Kevin Bumen points to where drones have previously invaded his airspace. "Between the runway and the fence,” he said as he motioned to a spot in the distance.Bumen says he has watched closely as other airports have had to briefly shut down departures and takeoffs this year after drone sightings near aircraft or runways. His own airport has seen record commercial airplane traffic so far this year."What if that happened at our airport? What would we do about that?” he asked rhetorically about a drone disruption during an interview earlier this year.When asked exactly what he would do, Bumen answered, “Well, it's a really interesting question.”“Today, we have no technology that would tell us there's a drone at a given distance from the airport… We're completely blind.” FAA: Drone defense systems ‘prohibited’Yet despite the potential risk to passengers, aircraft, and airports, the FAA, in a stern letter in May, cautioned airports not to proceed with any form of counter-UAS technology, citing the current “prohibition on non-federal use of countermeasure or mitigation technologies.”In addition, “the FAA cannot confirm the legality of any UAS detection system,” the three-page letter states. It’s signed by John Dermody, director of the agency’s Office of Airport Safety and Standards.Dermody, in the letter, cited “undesirable safety and efficiency impacts,” that could arise from the use of drone detection and defense technologies in an active airport environment, such the introduction of electromagnetic broadcast signals that could “create a hazard to air navigation,” or that use of such devices could “provoke response actions” from drone operators that “disrupt air traffic operations.”In an interview at a FAA UAS Symposium held in Baltimore in June, Dermody told the National Investigative Unit that, in his view, "I don't see that we need a drone defense system around airports."Dermody said pilots or passengers could spot drones and notify authorities, instead.But he did admit the agency’s efforts to provide airports with solutions and codify a federal response to a drone-related disruption at a major U.S. airport – such as at Newark – may not be accelerating enough."We know we're not moving at the fastest pace possible,” Dermody acknowledged in the interview.“We know there needs to be more guidance out there,” he added.TSA safety gaps now include dronesBut despite the growing alarm, the FAA has been hobbled, investigators have found, in its technological ability to track and respond to drone-related incidents.Inspectors from the FAA told the Government Accountability Office (GAO) for a report issued in October they receive reports of sightings "on a daily basis" from air traffic controllers – yet are powerless to do anything to stop them, the independent review found.Current FAA systems, the report said, are unable to verify the sighting was actually a drone, not capable of determining whether the flight was authorized, and have “no existing mechanism” to track UAS-related trends.The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) also knows drones could be a problem.For the first time it has added drones to its list of safety gaps in U.S. transportation, according to a recent report from the GAO.Drone defense companies take offDrone defense companies are already supplying airports with counter-UAS (cUAS) technology – just not in the United States.Instead, the rapidly-expanding cUAS industry is finding receptive clients in law enforcement.WhiteFox, a California-based drone airspace security company, said its devices are currently protecting VIPs, including judges.In an exclusive demonstration near the site of the 2019 Super Bowl in Atlanta just hours before kickoff in January and another one in March near the San Luis Obispo County Airport, WhiteFox CEO Luke Fox allowed National Investigative Unit cameras to record video of its Scorpion product for the first time.The garage door-sized device disrupts control of a drone in under a second, sending the UAS back to its owner and away from the protected area, such as an NFL game, a site of a presidential visit, or air field."There are many airports who are seeking to deploy this technology and are feeling the pain of not having the technology,” Fox said.Oleg Vornik, CEO of DRONESHIELD, a competitor, said in an interview at the 2019 Association of the United State Army annual event in October that “there are airports internationally that use our technology,” such as at an airport in Rionegro, Colombia, just outside the country’s second largest city, Medellin.Rafael, an Israeli company, said its Drome Dome technology has been deployed to protect aviation assets overseas. A spokesman told the National Investigative Unit it plans a second demonstration for the U.S. military before the end of the year, in Israel.Pilot Programs AccelerateLaw enforcement agencies in the United States are accelerating the use of such technologies, even if domestic airports aren’t.The U.S. Secret Service deployed a pilot drone defense system at this year’s United National General Assembly gathering in New York in September, according to documents filed discussing the program’s privacy impact.Citing the completion of that test, the U.S. Coast Guard has said it is now conducting a one-year pilot program of counter-UAS systems that may “pose a credible threat” to facilities or assets. A pilot program is also currently underway at the Dallas/Fort Worth International Airport, a spokeswoman confirmed; the airport would not disclose its success rate or allow reporters to observe a demonstration.The Department of Homeland Security also is reluctant to discuss its drone defense efforts.In March, the National Investigative Unit filed a public records request with the Department of Homeland Security seeking documents about “new defenses” against drones that then-Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen had disclosed publicly, when she told an audience the department had used them at the 2019 Super Bowl.In June, the department responded to confirm it had found the documents sought by the NIU. But the department stated it would not release a single page, claiming that even releasing one word would risk disclosing law enforcement techniques and “could reasonably be expected to risk circumvention of the law.”Travis Sherwin, April Chunko, and Matt Moore contributed to this report. Know of drone defense concerns or innovative uses? Send investigative tips, information, and documents about this topic to the National Investigative Unit at investigate@hearst.com.