The Department of Homeland Security has created an office to operate drones and counter bad ones, with millions of dollars already slated to protect upcoming high-profile mass gatherings across the United States, agency officials said on Monday.
The new Program Executive Office for Unmanned Aircraft Systems and Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems will “oversee strategic investments in drone and counter-drone technologies that can outpace evolving threats and tactics,” the agency said in a press release.
DHS said the office “has already begun its work” and is finalizing a plan to spend $115 million on counter-drone tech.
The launch comes as the Trump administration looks to protect the World Cup and its 100-plus soccer matches spread across the U.S., Canada and Mexico. DHS officials also said the office will help protect celebrations surrounding the United States’ 250th anniversary.
“Drones represent the new frontier of American air superiority,” DHS Secretary Kristi Noem said in a statement, adding that the office “will help us continue to secure the border and cripple the cartels, protect our infrastructure, and keep Americans safe as they attend festivities and events during a historic year of America’s 250th birthday and FIFA 2026.”
Late last year, the Trump administration made some $500 million in grants available to states and localities to help fund their own anti-drone efforts; half is expected to be allocated in fiscal year 2026 and half in FY27.
The FY26 National Defense Authorization Act, which President Trump signed into law last month, also extended DHS and the Justice Department’s counter-drone authorities until 2031. The powers, first granted in 2018, lapsed during last year’s government shutdown, but the renewal means that both agencies can continue to track, detect, and disable drones that are deemed a threat to public safety.
Drones have been used for a host of nefarious purposes, from smuggling drugs across the U.S.-Mexico border to delivering contraband to prisons. Others have strayed or been sent into sensitive areas, disrupting airports and sporting events.
The Federal Aviation Administration said it receives over 100 reports each month of drones operating near airports. After passage of the FY26 NDAA, the National Football League said it had detected roughly 2,300 drones around NFL stadiums in violation of game-day Temporary Flight Restrictions.
Since 2018, DHS said, it has conducted over 1,500 missions to counter “illicit drone activities” across the country.
“The new Program Executive Office will be taking the threat of hostile drones head-on and innovating ways drones can keep us safe from other threats on the ground, equipping the Department with the technology and expertise we need to keep us Americans safe,” the agency said.
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