Ramona Adams
CACI International, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Homeland Security have conducted research on technologies that work to detect unmanned aircraft systems in commercial airports.
FAA said Thursday the program seeks to address safety and security concerns regarding unauthorized UAS flown near airports and manned airplanes.
The agency noted that it receives more than 100 reports a month of drones flying in the vicinity of airports.
“The explosive growth of the unmanned aircraft industry makes evaluating detection technologies an urgent priority,” said Marke Gibson, FAA senior adviser on UAS integration.
“This research is totally aimed at keeping our skies safe, which is our number one mission.”
CACI contributed its radio frequency sensors system SkyTracker for the program to help determine the location of a “rogue drone” and its operator by detecting frequencies usually used by drones, FAA said.
The team worked with the University of Maryland to evaluate SkyTracker from Jan. 25 to Feb. 2 at the Atlantic City International Airport and will submit a final report in August.
John Mengucci, CACI chief operating officer and president of U.S. operations, said the tests were conducted under the PathFinder agreement.
