It’s no secret that unmanned aerial systems have become a pesky issue for federal regulators. From close calls with manned commercial aircraft to drones interfering with firefighters, a small group of bad actors have created enough havoc to spur the Federal Aviation Administration to consider requiring nearly universal UAS registration . But it’s not just airports and firefighters who are finding drones a threat. Because of several instances of contraband entering prisons via drones, the Federal Bureau of Prisons has released a request for information to identify and assess the landscape of technologies and systems that can counter and mitigate possible nefarious intent of UAS. The BOP is interested in integrated systems that will allow it to detect, track, interdict, engage and neutralize small unmanned aerial systems, the RFI said, though BOP acknowledges that not all its requested features may be available in a single system. The RFI also includes requirements for the general operational environment, which include: Mixed use airspace where in both threat and “friendly” drones may be operating Drone performance that consists of: Flying altitudes from ground level to 18,000 ft Velocities from 0 to 100 m/sec Highly variable dimensions, but in general less than four […]
