(Editor’s note: This story is part of a series of reports on efforts to establish new counter-UAS protocols in the U.S. to protect high-profile sporting events and critical infrastructure from the potential threats posed by drones flown by careless or hostile actors.)
Following a year of legislative, legal and physical preparation, federal security officials, supported by state and local law enforcement partners, are ready to ensure the public that they can protect the airspace from unwanted drone incursions above U.S. cities hosting the FIFA World Cup 2026 tournament, a high-ranking FBI official told DroneLife in an interview.
The tournament will be held in 11 U.S. cities, beginning on June 11 and running through July 19.
“We can’t control everything, but I think that we’ve done everything we can based off of what we know and what’s available to us to protect the communities. I would not hesitate to bring my family — if I could afford the tickets — to watch a World Cup game,” said Michael Torphy, assistant section chief of the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group (CIRG) division.
Torphy, who heads the bureau’s operational programs for unmanned aircraft systems and counter-UAS, said despite significant roadblocks — such as a month-and-a-half-long government shutdown, which halted operations of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) — the FBI and its federal partner agencies in the DHS are prepared to oversee counter-UAS operations in 11 U.S. FIFA host cities and other important sites.
“I think last year I would’ve said we weren’t ready. We didn’t have the resources we needed. We didn’t have the authorities that we needed. And within one year, we have done so much — between the operation side and the equipment and the grants and the legal piece with Congress.”
FBI and DHS to Share Counter-UAS Leadership Across World Cup Host Cities
The FBI will share the leadership for counter-UAS efforts at stadiums hosting World Cup matches with several DHS agencies, including Customs and Border Protection, Federal Protective Service and the U.S. Coast Guard. Torphy’s FBI team also will serve as the technical lead at other World Cup-related sites such as FIFA FanFestivals.
In addition, FBI field offices located in World Cup host cities will be engaged at all stadium locations, leading a task force of federal, state and local law-enforcement partners dubbed the Ground Intercept Team (GIT).
“Upon detection of a potential threat drone, or a careless and clueless operator, we will dispatch that GIT, which would be two or three law enforcement officers, to the pilot’s location and make contact with them and conduct an interview, determine if they are a threat — potentially seize their drone, and then potentially refer (the case) for prosecution,” Torphy said.
GIT members will also be responsible for conducting follow-up investigations of drone-incursion incidents, which could include the “potential technical exploitation of any seized drones or electronics,” pilot interviews and referrals for both federal criminal prosecution and federal civil fines through the FAA.
Drone Violations Near World Cup Sites Could Mean Federal Felony Charges
Operators who fly their drones near World Cup-related sites in violation of FAA temporary flight restrictions will face harsh penalties, including the potential for one year in prison on a federal misdemeanor charge for a first offense. The Safer Skies Act, which became law last December as part of the National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA), tacked on up to a five-year felony penalty for subsequent offenses.
FBI to Take the Lead in Counter-UAS
Federal officials will be backed up in their efforts to provide counter-UAS protection by teams of state and local law enforcement officers, some of whom have been trained at the FBI’s National Counter-UAS Training Center at Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville, Alabama to conduct drone mitigation operations. The Safer Skies Act allows the FBI to deputize state, local, tribal and territorial law (SLTT) officers to take down drones, under certain narrow conditions.
Since last October, when it graduated its first class, 60 state and local law enforcement officers from about 43 different agencies have taken the two-week drone-mitigation class. Torphy said that in the future, following a formal rule-making process, there will be two tiers of counter-UAS training available to non-federal law enforcement officers, the in-class Counter-UAS System Operator course, and an online course, which, once completed will allow officers to deploy certain technologies that enable drone-detection and -identification, but not drone mitigation.
Citing security concerns, Torphy declined to identify any of the private-industry partners the FBI is contracting with to provide the counter-UAS technology, or which specific technology modes the agency would deploy. He said that the FBI is authorized to deploy technologies that use kinetic measures to bring down errant drones, although these methods would only likely be used sparingly and only in situations that wouldn’t involve endangering people on the ground.
“There’s nothing in the law that tells us that we cannot use kinetic or other types of technological categories. However, we do believe that we want to employ technical mitigation measures that are commensurate to the threat that we see, so we don’t want to go overboard,” he said. “What I like to say is we don’t want the cure to be worse than the disease, and we have to avoid collateral damage.”
A Sprint Toward Counter-UAS Capability
Torphy said federal, state and local entities worked tirelessly for almost exactly one year to put the current national counter-UAS framework together. The federal government began laying the groundwork for establishing counter-UAS capabilities when President Trump issued two major executive orders last June, as part of a broader set of actions to strengthen American leadership in drone technology and enhance the security of national airspace.
The orders directed the FBI to establish the NCUTC, in anticipation of the change in the law that would take place with the passage of the Safer Skies Act later that year, to provide an avenue for SLTT law officers to take part in drone-mitigation efforts.
Last July Trump signed the One, Big, Beautiful Bill Act, which established a two-year $500 million counter-UAS grant program to be administered by FEMA, a DHS agency. Under the first year of the program, FEMA has dispersed $250 million in grant funds to states where FIFA events are scheduled, as well as to the greater Washington, D.C. area, which will be host of a number of America250 celebrations.
“The timing has been very good and it’s not been coincidental. It’s been a lot of things to do in one year: execute an executive order, stand up a school, set up a brand-new half-billion-dollar reimbursement program,” Torphy said. “Now we are working on finalizing the implementation framework for Safer Skies.”
Counter-UAS Security Designed to Stay Hidden From World Cup Fans
He said the months of preparation and the millions of dollars spent are designed to establish a system of counter-UAS protection that will be largely hidden from public view.
“We want the fans to be watching the game, enjoying the game and not realizing that there’s a giant security apparatus behind them and above them, protecting them from all kinds of threats,” Torphy said.
The FBI’s efforts extend far beyond days when the FIFA matches are played, he said.
“In the days and weeks and months leading up to game day, on the intelligence side of the house we are using our undercover operations and our tripwires and our community contacts to make sure that we are stopping any potential attacks well before they get to the game-day operationalization phase.
“But we can’t stop everything ahead of time, which is why we’re there to provide that last layer of defense. And all of that is essentially invisible to the fan.”
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Jim Magill is a Houston-based writer with almost a quarter-century of experience covering technical and economic developments in the oil and gas industry. After retiring in December 2019 as a senior editor with S&P Global Platts, Jim began writing about emerging technologies, such as artificial intelligence, robots and drones, and the ways in which they’re contributing to our society. In addition to DroneLife, Jim is a contributor to Forbes.com and his work has appeared in the Houston Chronicle, U.S. News & World Report, and Unmanned Systems, a publication of the Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International
