Hoeven requests FBI utilize expertise of North Dakota test site for future training program

U.S. Sen. John Hoeven (R-ND) recently urged the Federal Bureau of Investigation to work with the Federal Aviation Administration’s Northern Plains Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) Test Site in North Dakota to report on the feasibility of establishing a law enforcement training program.  

The senator’s request is part of his broader efforts to advance North Dakota’s leadership in UAS and to protect against the misuse of the technology, according to a Jan. 25 letter Sen. Hoeven sent to Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) Director Christopher Wray.

In the letter, Sen. Hoeven wrote that the conference report to accompany the fiscal year 2021 appropriation for the U.S. Department of Justice includes language directing the FBI to report on the feasibility of establishing a Counter-Unmanned Aerial System (C-UAS) training program for state, local, and tribal law enforcement.

Specifically, Sen. Hoeven, who authored and secured language in the FY 2021 funding legislation directing the FBI to report to Congress on this matter, requested the FBI utilize the expertise of the Northern Plains UAS Test Site to establish the C-UAS training program. 

“While technology has advanced considerably in the ensuing decade, the role of the test sites remains vital to the safe integration of UAS,” Sen. Hoeven wrote. “Not only can the test sites ease the development of technology for use in the private sector, they also help develop the safety and security architecture needed to keep the skies safe for all users.” 

Sen. Hoeven also pointed out that UAS may be misused, including for the surveillance of sensitive government sites, invading individual privacy, and delivering contraband to prisoners.

“The Northern Plains UAS Test Site in particular is well suited to advance federal government efforts to counter the misuse of unmanned aircraft,” he wrote, noting that the test site also works regularly with U.S. Department of Homeland Security officials on C-UAS technology, and has collaborated for many years with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration on developing unmanned traffic management.

“For these reasons, I believe the test site is uniquely suited to advise the Critical Incident Response Group on what a C-UAS training program for law enforcement should include and how it might be implemented,” Sen. Hoeven wrote.