The United States Transportation Security Administration’s (TSA) Law Enforcement/Federal Air Marshal Service (LE/FAMS) has completed a three-day inaugural training course, with 18 FAMs earning the certifications needed to fly TSA’s fleet of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS). The newly certified sUAS pilots can now fly the agency’s Skydio X10 drones. TSA is using sUAS to assess airport vulnerabilities.
Airports had previously conducted tabletop UAS response exercises, but the new training enables LE/FAMS to support TSA with airport perimeter assessments, critical infrastructure vulnerability analysis and airport UAS response exercises.
LE/FAMS partnered with the Las Vegas Metro Police Department (LVMPD) for the opening sUAS training certification. The training venue is the decommissioned Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas. TSA has already scheduled its second sUAS pilot certification event at the same location next month, to train Midwest LE/FAMS field offices. It plans to train the remaining field office sUAS pilots on the East Coast this summer.
The US government watchdog has previously called for better drone protection at airports. Read more about it here.