TSA Testing New Drone Detection Technology at LAX
CA – After drone sightings and even reports of a man flying in a jetpack around Los Angeles International Airport (LAX), the federal government is rolling out new tech that could better detect objects entering restricted airspace. The Transportation Security Administration (TSA) announced that is has begun state-of-the-art technology designed to detect, track, and identify drones entering restricted airspace around LAX. Drones pose a security threat to transportation security when flown into certain restricted airspaces. LAX and Miami International Airport are the only locations nationwide testing TSA’s UAS Test Bed Program. This program will allow TSA to validate the effectiveness of UAS detection technology in real-world, aviation environments.
The TSA and LAX have a long-standing partnership working together to find innovative new solutions to passenger safety and security. LAX was selected as a testing site for the latest UAS detection technology test bed due to the airport’s diverse aviation operations, large number of enplanements, frequency of UAS activity, and high passenger volume. Data collected at the LAX site will help TSA expand this capability to other airports in the future and raise awareness of the risks of encroaching on restricted airspace.
In recent years, UAS has grown in popularity and are used for a wide range of commercial and recreational purposes. The new technology, which operates 24 hours a day, can use radio frequency waves, electro-optical, radar, acoustic, and thermal imaging to identify the precise location of a UAS.
Since 2021, there have been approximately 90 visual sightings and 5,200 technical detections within three miles of the LAX perimeter. So far this year, approximately 38 drones have been visually detected at LAX including a drone that was reported within 700 feet of an aircraft several days before Super Bowl LVI when SoFi Stadium and LAX were designated as no drone zones.
In support of the Department of Homeland Security’s role in UAS security, the LAX test bed is federally funded and part of TSA’s collaboration with airport, local law enforcement and interagency partners. This test bed will help to determine effective and suitable technologies that could be used in an operational airport environment. Information and data collected from the TSA UAS test beds will assist stakeholders in protecting against threats to aviation, surface, and related transportation domains.
The systems under assessment have shown minimal downtime and detected thousands of UAS flights in the vicinity of the airport. TSA continues to collect data at that site with the ultimate goal of mitigating the risks unauthorized UAS operations pose to the nation’s transportation system.
A video demonstrating the LAX Test Beds UAS detection capabilities is available at https://youtu.be/vC15LHvCuwI.