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December 20, 2025
CISA is expanding its Be Air Aware campaign with three practical guides that help critical infrastructure operators understand and manage the risks posed by unmanned aircraft systems. Together, the new resources explain how to choose and deploy UAS detection technologies, how to assess and report suspicious drone activity, and how to safely handle downed drones that could pose safety, security, or cyber threats. The detection guidance emphasizes starting with a clear risk assessment: understanding local airspace and typical drone usage, identifying critical assets that are most vulnerable to aerial threats, and recognizing how drones can be used for surveillance, smuggling, harassment, or cyber and physical attacks. It walks through key environmental and organizational factors and outlines four main sensor types—acoustic, electro-optical/infrared, radar, and radio frequency—so operators can match technology choices to their specific sites and then fold those systems into a layered, defense-in-depth security program.
The companion guides focus on decision-making and response. One helps operators distinguish routine drone activity from suspicious behavior around facilities and public gatherings, encouraging them to map normal patterns, recognize indicators of hostile intent, and scale their responses appropriately while preserving airspace access for compliant operators. The safe-handling guidance for downed drones lays out a structured approach: plan ahead with law enforcement and FAA contacts, integrate UAS procedures into emergency plans, define roles and responsibilities, and train regularly. When an incident occurs, operators are advised to secure the area, activate notification processes, document key details about the device and its payload, and let legal and law enforcement guidance shape whether the drone is returned or retained as evidence. The overall message is that early planning, clear processes, and regular exercises are essential to managing UAS risks safely and effectively, especially as drone-related threats grow and follow-on warnings—such as concerns about foreign-manufactured UAS—continue to emerge.
