The Ultimate Guide to Drone Detection

Summary: The Ultimate Guide to Drone Detection: Learn risks, laws, and methods—RF, radar, EO/IR, and acoustic—to protect airspace and locate pilots.

Drones aren’t going away. Neither is the need to reliably detect and track them.

You may be asking yourself, what is drone detection? How do drone detection systems work? What kind of threats do drones pose? Who is threatened by drones? How do I know if me or my property are at risk?

We have compiled many resources to share the ins and outs of drone detection we’ve seen learned over the past decade. The five key topics include:

1. How do drones pose a risk?
2. What is drone detection and how does it work?
3. Are there laws regulating drones and drone detection?
4. How to select a drone detection system that matches your risk level?

Education is key to understanding this industry, so we hope this guide helps you stay informed.

#1. How Do Drones Pose A Risk?

Although drone technology has greatly enhanced and advanced society, drones carry a great deal of power. This power, when put in the hands of clueless, careless, or criminal individuals, can carry lots of risk.

Let's outline a couple different scenarios of the threat drones pose when operated incorrectly.

Stadiums

Drone flights and disruptions at stadiums have become a cause for concern. They pose risks to both public safety and event integrity. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) prohibit drone flights within three nautical miles of certain stadiums before and after events, but their applicability is limited. Most stadiums and events are not covered by these restrictions.

Examples of drones interfering with operations at stadiums are growing rapidly. During a key NFL playoff game in 2025, play stopped in the third quarter because of a drone nearby. The pause that disrupted momentum, frustrated fans, and raised security concerns lasted over five minutes.

Despite the drone never actually flying directly over the stadium, it breached the FAA three mile TFR. This prompted a mandatory stoppage of play. This was the third time in two years a drone interfered with an NFL game at that stadium.

Mass Gatherings

At mass gatherings such as fairs, concerts, and protests, hobbyist pilots often fly drones to capture aerial footage of the crowd. However, these events also present additional concerns beyond those seen at stadiums.

When protests in 2020 escalated to riots and looting, rioters used drones as surveillance tools. From the sky, they could direct crowds away from police to avoid confrontation or towards them for harassment or attack. They also guided looters to areas without police presence.

Prisons/Correctional Facilities

Threats posed by drones at prisons include delivery of contraband such as drugs, weapons, cell phones, and tools to aid in inmate escape. Drones may also be used for surveillance to observe staff routines and identify opportunities for further contraband delivery or other crimes.

Even with restricted airspace and specific laws in place, highly fortified correctional facilities are unable to prevent drone infiltration. The FAA has imposed airspace restrictions over many Federal Bureau of Prison facilities. Several states have also enacted laws targeting drone flights over private facilities. However, these measures do not deter contraband pilots probably because they can make so much money off of one drop.

Correctional facilities often act as hubs for drug distribution, linking them to local gang activity. Failure to quickly identify and respond to drone activity can lead to facility lockdowns, requiring extensive response efforts.

For more information about drone threats at correctional facilities, check out our blog “Drone Threats at Correctional Facilities”

Airports & Sea Ports

At airports, drones pose risks of collisions with aircraft and intentional disruptions or attacks. The FAA has implemented strict regulations regarding drone flights near airports for these safety concerns. Despite these measures, numerous close encounters between drones and aircraft have occurred. When drones appear near airports, officials often halt operations. This results in significant financial losses amounting to millions or possibly billions of dollars.

An example occurred at London-Gatwick Airport in 2019. Sightings of drones caused mass chaos and led to a runway shutdown. This disrupted pre-Christmas flights for 33 hours, forcing airlines to cancel or delay numerous flights. The incident caused significant financial losses, with airlines estimating a total cost of £50 million ($64.5 million).

Drones can also pose significant risks to sea ports. The potential to disrupt operations, conduct unauthorized surveillance, and bypass authorities and checks proves strong. Drones can also facilitate the delivery of illicit cargo such as drugs or weapons.

Corporate Campuses & Data Centers

At corporate campuses, drone risks involve potential intellectual property theft aided by rogue access points dropped onto rooftops. Additionally, unauthorized camera surveillance into sensitive areas like conference rooms poses another large concern.

Data centers, which store vast amounts of valuable data, utilize various cyber and physical security measures. However, many have not yet fully addressed the threat posed by drones. Similar to the risks posed to corporate campuses, drones can be used to hack into data centers and steal proprietary information.

Critical Infrastructure

The Department of Homeland Security has identified 16 critical infrastructure sectors vital to the United States. All 16 of these suffer from security risks posed by drones. 

Most critical infrastructure is not in restricted airspace. For example, only weapons-related nuclear plants are on the 14 CFR 99.7 list (FAA UAS Data Delivery System), meaning drones can legally operate near most power plants, refineries, and even nuclear plants unless in controlled airspace, where standard airspace authorizations apply.

Although intentional drone acts such as spying to identify weak spots, intellectual property theft, and possible physical attacks using weaponized drones are devastating, clueless or careless drone activity is more common and can be just as dangerous.

These clueless or careless pilots can cause massive amounts of damage to critical infrastructure sites. Hobbyist pilots can easily lose control and crash causing damage to equipment and structures, leading to widespread disruptions to power grids or refinery operations.

Recently, the largest drone manufacturer in the world, DJI, removed its software-enforced geofencing around locations such as airports and critical infrastructure sites. Pilots still receive a notification they are flying in sensitive areas, however, there is no longer software prohibiting pilots from flying in these locations.

Military/Defense  

Drones have been at the forefront of the Ukraine-Russia war and look to shape the future of warfare. The risk unauthorized drones pose to resources and life is great for the military.

For example, a simple multi-copter drone flying over an Air Force base could accidentally cross paths with a plane. This could cause a $100 million jet to crash and put the pilot's life at risk. Drone detection helps prevent this.

For more information about drone threats for the military, check out our blog Military Drone Detection: How the U.S. Armed Forces are Combating Drone Threats

For more information about drone threats, check out our blog “Why Are Drones a Safety and Security Concern?”

For more information about the recent DJI geofencing removal, check out our blog “DJI Geofencing Removal: What It Means for Drone Pilots and Airspace Safety”

#2. What is Drone Detection and How Does it Work?

Drones, also often called Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), are impressive technology. However, they can also pose the risk to property and safety if used incorrectly.

Drone detection systems, or Counter Unmanned Aerial Systems (cUAS), have existed in theory since World War II when the military first used radar technology. However, purpose-built drone detection systems didn't exist until the late 1900s.

Now, people use cUAS across the globe for many different purposes. Some of these purposes include:

• Monitor drone activity at airports
• Track drone use over stadiums and other public event centers
• Enforce no-fly zones over military or government installations
• Locate and track enemy drone deployments over battlefields
• Disrupt and ultimately prevent drone borne contraband flights

Drone detection systems achieve detection through the use of electronic sensors or receivers and antennas. Just as air traffic control towers use radar to detect and track aircraft flights in airport airspace, drone detection systems monitor and track drones in their designated areas. 

One can achieve drone detection through different technologies and methods.

• Radio Frequency (RF)
  • Remote ID
• Radar
• Electro-Optical/Infrared (EO/IR)
• Acoustic

RF technology is the primary way drones communicate with their pilots or controllers, making RF drone detection the only reliable method to locate both the drone and its pilot.

RF technology is the backbone to the FAA Remote ID mandate. The Remote ID rule requires all drones between .55 lb and 55 lbs to transmit identification and location information. Similar to a vehicle's unique license plate number, Remote ID acts as a digital license plate for drones. Other parties are then able to receive the identifying information via a Remote ID application or a Remote ID receiver.

RADAR is short for Radio Detection and Ranging. RADAR systems emit focused radio waves, which upon encountering an object, bounce back to the sensors. These sensors analyze the reflections to ascertain the object's position and dimensions.

Camera Electro-Optical (EO), Camera Infra-Red (IR), along with other visual tracking methods are also common. These methods employ PTZ (Pan, Tilt, and Zoom) cameras for visual tracking of drones. These cameras focus on the drone's GPS coordinates, then follow its movement. This is similar to how a security camera tracks motion in a specific area.

Acoustic drone detection systems rely on unique sound signatures produced by the motors of a drone. The detection speed of these systems is mainly limited due to varying types of the drones, their environment, and distance to the acoustic sensors.

Drone detection systems use one of or a combination of methods listed above. A system can be as simple yet effective as a singular Remote ID receiver. A complex multi-layered system could use a combination of Remote ID and other RF-based detection, radar, and cameras.

You can deploy drone detection systems in multiple different ways. Two common terms for deployment are “mobile drone detection” or “citywide drone detection”.

With Mobile drone detection systems, you can quickly relocate the system, allowing for easy set-up and take-down. Some mobile systems even operate while in motion. This allows detection from vehicles such as cars or boats or from individuals on foot.

Citywide is a term used to describe a full ecosystem of drone detection sensors. These networks of sensors work together to cover an entire urban zone or wide-geographic area. When paired with fusion centers or incident command centers, monitoring of the system is handled remotely and enables the rapid passing of key information to law enforcement or other agencies/partners.

For more information on drone detection, check out our blog “What is Drone Detection”

For information on type of drones and how to detect them, check out our blog “Common Types of Drones and How to Detect Them”

For more common drone detection terms, check out our blog “Drone Detection/Counter-UAS Terms and Definitions”

For information on FAA Remote ID, check out our blogs “A Quick Guide to Remote ID Drone Detection” & “Remote ID App vs Remote ID Receiver”

For more information on RF drone detection, check out our blog “10 RF Drone Detection Misconceptions”

For information concerning mobile drone detection, check out our blog “The World of Mobile Drone Detection”

For information concerning citywide drone detection, check out our blog “Citywide Drone Detection: A National, Regional and Targeted Approach”

For information on military drone detection systems, check out our blog “Military Drone Detection”

#3. Are There Laws Regulating Drones and Drone Detection?

Government lawmakers and regulators see the possible threats and risks of using drones. They also recognize that certain drone detection technology may put privacy at risk. In the last 10 years there have been an abundance of new national bills proposed, however few of these bills pass and become laws.

This is the same story for local governments. Many lawmakers have proposed bills, but lengthy and unclear processes cause most to fall by the wayside. 

The FAA’s updated fact sheet clarifies that the federal government has exclusive authority over aviation safety and airspace efficiency, which includes drones. State and local governments can regulate outside these areas—such as privacy or property concerns—as long as their laws don’t conflict with FAA regulations.

FAA Fact Sheet on State and Local Regulation of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) 

Multiple laws greatly regulate the use of drones and specify where they can operate. Similarly, many laws limit when and how drone detection systems are able to acquire information.

Below is a table of some national laws that are currently in place which regulate drone and drone detection use.

Although these are the most noteworthy national laws, local laws and regulations often go more in-depth or broaden the scope of national laws. It is always recommended to check with local governments to see what laws they have that regulate drone and drone detection use.

Mitigation and 124n

One topic of constant discussion is drone mitigation. Mitigation is taking any action that interferes with the signal of the drone or physically interferes with its flight. 

As of writing this article, mitigation is illegal for all drone detection systems operating in the United States. The only way to legally use mitigation tactics is to apply for and receive a 124n waiver. 124n is a government law that allows a few government agencies to mitigate and intercept, bypassing wiretapping laws.

This means that Uncle Joe shooting down a drone over his property is illegal. It also means limitations apply to how systems collect data from drones, as they can’t decrypt any signals. It’s important to know the right questions to ask when evaluating drone detection to ensure you are choosing the right system for your needs while staying compliant with current laws.

The government has extended these 124n waivers multiple times. Most recently, the government renewed these waivers for those select agencies for another five (5) years beginning in May 2024.  In the future, if these waivers aren’t renewed those few government agencies would be required to follow the same regulations as consumers.

The 124n waiver application process takes a long time and is quite complex. Only four government agencies have received approval. This leaves the majority of those looking for a drone solution needing to explore systems with detection, not mitigation.

One of our first clients once said, “Pilot location is a form of mitigation.” The pilot is the source of the drone in the air that presents a potential problem. If you have a drone detection system that allows you to locate the pilot, you can determine their intent and ask for their cooperation to safely land their drone. 

For more information about drone laws and regulations, check out our blog “Securing our Skies: How Government is Regulating Drone Use [and How You Can Help]”

For more information about drone mitigation, check out our blog “To Mitigate, or Not to Mitigate Drones…Should That Be the Question?”

For more information about mitigation waivers and 124n, check out our blog “Waiver to Operate Drone Detection and Mitigation Systems: 124n”

#4. How Do I Choose A Drone Detection System?

By now, you may be wondering, "I understand drone risks and drone detection, but how do I choose a drone detection system that’s right for me?". 

For most organizations, a Remote ID receiver is all that’s needed to detect nearby drones and identify who’s flying them. It provides real-time insight, helping you monitor activity and respond appropriately without overcomplicating things. But if you begin to notice suspicious drone activity with no Remote ID signal, it could be a sign of a bigger concern—at that point, a more advanced detection system may be worth considering.

Book a time with us to go through your specific use case and concerns. 

For more information about choosing a drone detection system, check out our blog “7 Must-Ask Questions When Choosing a Drone Detection System”

Conclusion

This is the end of the Ultimate Guide to Drone Detection. You now have a great basic knowledge of the industry of drone detection. You should feel confident in the future and what you can do to protect yourself and your property.

Here are a few key takeaways:

1. Drones can pose a variety of risks to all industries. Even simple, unaware drone trespassing can have safety and security implications. These include sporting event delays, airport disruption, or even catastrophic loss of life.
2. Drone detection systems help protect you and your property from the growing misuse of drones. This misuse can be either intentional or un-intentional.
3. Drone operations are governed by a mix of federal, state, and local laws, while the use of drone detection systems is regulated solely at the federal level. Only four (4) government agencies can mitigate or interfere with drones. Drone detection systems that allow you to locate the pilot so you can safely land the drone is the best course of action.
4. To choose a drone detection system, assess your risk level. A Remote ID receiver is typically enough for most organizations to monitor drones and identify pilots. However, if drones are spotted without broadcasting Remote ID, it may signal a larger threat—warranting a more advanced detection system.

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