Security Policy Alert: Counter UAS Operations for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Law Enforcement Operations Interim Final Rule Issued

July 6, 2026

On Friday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) collectively issued an interim final rule (IFR) to codify the framework for implementing the SAFER SKIES Act, which authorizes State, local, Tribal, and territorial (SLTT) law enforcement or correctional agencies to conduct counter-unmanned aircraft system (C-UAS) operations. This framework governs training and certification (including a two-tiered structure for detection and warning operations and for mitigation operations), authorized technologies, spectrum coordination, airspace approval, real-time air traffic control notification, mitigation reporting, privacy protections, and compliance requirements for SLTT agencies in relation to the exercise of C-UAS authority.

DOJ and DHS’s IFR was effective as of July 1, 2026. The Departments are soliciting written data and comments on the IFR. Comments must be received on or before September 4, 2026. AAAE will be working with our members to file comments in response to the IFR.

Background on the SAFER SKIES Act:

The SAFER SKIES Act, signed into law on December 18, 2025, authorizes SLTT agencies to take certain measures to detect and mitigate credible threats that unmanned aircraft and UAS pose to the safety or security of people, facilities, and assets, venues used for large-scale public gatherings or events, critical infrastructure, or correctional facilities.

Specifically, the SAFER SKIES Act authorizes SLTT agencies to take the mitigation measures identified in the law if they:

are trained and certified by the Attorney General, or the Attorney General’s designee, through a national schoolhouse;
use technologies on authorized technologies and systems lists maintained jointly by DOJ, DHS, the Department of Defense, the Department of Transportation, the Federal Communications Commission, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration;
comply with specific compliance, coordination, and audit requirements; and
report mitigation actions to DOJ and DHS.

In addition, the SAFER SKIES Act authorized SLTT agencies to take measures to detect, monitor, identify, track, and confiscate UAS, as well as warn the operator of a UAS, including by passive or active, direct or indirect physical, electronic, radio, or electromagnetic means, and through the use of a remote identification broadcast, or by other means (generally referred to as detection and warning operations) if the appropriate personnel satisfy specific training and certification procedures.

Highlights from the DOJ and DHS IFR:

Upon initial review, there are several notable takeaways from the IFR:

First, the Departments explain that any SLTT law enforcement personnel seeking to engage in detection and warning operations must obtain a “Detection and Warning Certification” by completing online training developed by the National Counter-UAS Training Center (NCUTC), which the DOJ has designated as its national training center. The IFR makes it clear that personnel holding only this certification are not authorized to take any mitigation action or any other action that affects an unmanned aircraft in flight, regardless of the operator’s ultimate objective. By contrast, personnel that complete in-person instruction at the NCUTC may conduct mitigation activities, subject to the additional requirements discussed above.

Second, the IFR clarifies that operation of any RF-emitting C-UAS systems remains subject to applicable FCC authorization requirements and FAA coordination if such emission could impact the National Airspace System or other systems located at or near airports.

Third, the SAFER SKIES Act directed the DHS Secretary and the Attorney General, in coordination with the Secretaries of Defense and Transportation, and the FAA Administrator to develop and publish regulations governing C-UAS authority to conduct protective measures to detect, identify, monitor, track, and, if necessary, mitigate the threat of UAS for SLTT agencies. This IFR implements this statutory authority, including compliance requirements and procedures for coordination.

Finally, each SLTT law enforcement agency exercising authority must submit a semiannual operational summary through the designated federal C-UAS coordination portal, covering total operations conducted, mitigation actions taken, detection activity, instances of retention of records of communication beyond 180 days, instances in which control communications were disclosed outside the originating agency organized by the legal basis for their disclosure, compliance issues identified, and lessons learned. The summary must also report the requests the agency received for C-UAS protection from critical infrastructure or airport owners or operators that are not SLTT law enforcement or correctional agencies, the number of those requests to which it provided protection, and the number it was unable to support as well as the reasons it was unable to provide support.