§ 44810 — Airport Safety And Airspace Hazard Mitigation And Enforcement

(a) The Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration shall work with the Secretary of Defense, the Secretary of Homeland Security, and the heads of other relevant Federal departments and agencies for the purpose of ensuring that technologies or systems that are developed, tested, or deployed by Federal departments and agencies to detect and mitigate potential risks posed by errant or hostile unmanned aircraft system operations do not adversely impact or interfere with safe airport operations, navigation, air traffic services, or the safe and efficient operation of the national airspace system. (1) The Administrator shall develop a plan for the certification, permitting, authorizing, or allowing of the deployment of technologies or systems for the detection and mitigation of unmanned aircraft systems. (2) The plan shall provide for the development of policies, procedures, or protocols that will allow appropriate officials of the Federal Aviation Administration to utilize such technologies or systems to take steps to detect and mitigate potential airspace safety risks posed by unmanned aircraft system operations. (3) shall not apply to an aviation rulemaking committee chartered under this paragraph. (4) The plan shall not delegate any authority granted to the Administrator under this section to other Federal, State, local, territorial, or tribal agencies, or an airport sponsor, as defined in section 47102 of title 49, United States Code. (c) In order to test and evaluate technologies or systems that detect and mitigate potential aviation safety risks posed by unmanned aircraft, the Administrator shall deploy such technologies or systems at 5 airports, including 1 airport that ranks in the top 10 of the FAA’s most recent Passenger Boarding Data, and any other location the Administrator determines appropriate. (d) Under the testing and evaluation in subsection (c), the Administrator shall use unmanned aircraft detection and mitigation systems to detect and mitigate the unauthorized operation of an unmanned aircraft that poses a risk to aviation safety. (e) Upon the certification, permitting, authorizing, or allowing of such technologies and systems that have been successfully tested under this section, an airport sponsor may apply for a grant under subchapter I of chapter 471 to purchase an unmanned aircraft detection and mitigation system. For purposes of this subsection, purchasing an unmanned aircraft detection and mitigation system shall be considered airport development (as defined in section 47102). (f) of the House of Representatives and the Committee on the Judiciary of the Senate, on the implementation of this section. (g) (c) and (d). (h) This section ceases to be effective September 30, 2028. (i) The Administrator shall not delegate any authority granted to the Administrator under this section to other Federal, State, local, territorial, or tribal agencies, or an airport sponsor, as defined in section 47102 of title 49, United States Code. The Administrator may partner with other Federal agencies under this section, subject to any restrictions contained in such agencies’ authority to operate counter unmanned aircraft systems.