SAFER SKIES ACT / FEMA C-UAS GRANT PROGRAM
Counter-UAS Readiness for Law Enforcement and Corrections
The SAFER SKIES Act gave your agency real counter-drone authority for the first time. It also came with certification, policy, and reporting requirements most agencies aren’t staffed to build alone. We help North Carolina law enforcement, fire, emergency management, and correctional agencies get ready, get funded, and stay compliant.
Last reviewed: August 26, 2026
What Changed, In Plain English
On July 1, 2026, an interim final rule from the Department of Justice and Department of Homeland Security took effect, implementing the SAFER SKIES Act. For the first time, state, local, tribal, and territorial (SLTT) law enforcement and correctional agencies have a defined federal pathway to counter drones that threaten their jurisdiction — something that was previously reserved almost entirely for a handful of federal agencies.
The rule splits authority into two tiers, and the difference between them matters for staffing, budget, and what your agency is actually allowed to do:
Tier 1 — Detection and Warning
Identifying, tracking, and monitoring a drone, and warning its operator to land or leave the area. Lower certification bar — where most agencies start.
Tier 2 — Mitigation
Disrupting, seizing control of, disabling, damaging, or destroying a drone. Requires in-person certification through the FBI’s National Counter-UAS Training Center (NCUTC) — a two-week residential course, with an abbreviated track for correctional-only personnel. As of July 1, 2026, NCUTC had trained 61 officers across 46 agencies nationwide.
Both tiers require your agency to operate within the federal Authorized Technologies List, coordinate spectrum use, follow airspace approval procedures, notify air traffic control in real time when mitigation occurs, and file reports after mitigation incidents.
Source: Federal Register — Counter-UAS Authority for State, Local, Tribal, and Territorial Law Enforcement and Correctional Agencies, effective July 1, 2026.
What Your Agency Needs Before It Can Operate
Authority isn’t self-executing. Before your agency can lawfully run even a Tier 1 detection program, the rule expects you to have in place:
- Certified personnel, trained and certified for the specific tier you intend to operate at, with a plan for recurrent currency as certifications lapse
- A written implementation policy covering when and how counter-UAS authority is used, escalation criteria, and chain of command
- An operational plan specific to your jurisdiction’s facilities, airspace, and threat profile
- Equipment limited to the federal Authorized Technologies List — not whatever detection hardware a vendor is currently selling
- Reporting and audit procedures, including real-time ATC notification for any mitigation event and after-action reporting
- Privacy and data-handling safeguards for anything your detection systems capture, since these systems inherently collect data on aircraft and, in some cases, adjacent activity
Most agencies don’t have a standing team that can write federal-grade policy, run a procurement process against an Authorized Technologies List, and manage a certification pipeline — on top of their existing caseload. That gap is where most counter-UAS programs stall before they start.
Where the Funding Is
The Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Systems (C-UAS) Grant Program, established under the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, provides $500 million in federal funding across FY2026 and FY2027 to help SLTT agencies detect, identify, track, and monitor unmanned aircraft — with up to 100% federal share and no local match required.
FY2026 — $250M (Not NC)
Fast-tracked to the 11 states hosting FIFA World Cup 2026 matches, plus the National Capital Region. North Carolina was not part of this first tranche.
FY2027 — $250M (NC's Window)
Opens to all 56 states and territories, with minimum allocations plus risk-based competitive funding. This is North Carolina's funding window.
Only State Administrative Agencies (SAAs) can submit applications to FEMA — individual departments and agencies apply as sub-applicants through their state’s process. In North Carolina, federal preparedness grant funding of this kind has historically routed through your local Domestic Preparedness Region up to the State Emergency Response Commission, with NC Emergency Management (NCDPS) acting as the State Administrative Agency. (We haven’t yet confirmed this exact routing applies specifically to the C-UAS Grant Program rather than general Homeland Security Grant Program funds — we’ll update this section with a direct FEMA/NCEM source once available. If your agency has already been briefed on the NC-specific process, we’d like to hear what you know.)
Because FY2027 applications will move fast once the window opens, and because sub-applicant packages take real time to build — threat justification, equipment selection against the Authorized Technologies List, budget narrative, policy documentation — agencies that start preparing now will be ready to submit when North Carolina’s allocation opens.
Sources: FEMA C-UAS Grant Program; FEMA press release, December 2025.
UAS Sentry Detection Unit — Remote ID and radar-based detection hardware that gives agencies real-time airspace awareness as part of a compliant Tier 1 program.
What Nine Ten Drones Does
We help your agency move from “we now have authority” to “we have a funded, compliant, staffed program” — without pretending we do the one part of this that only law enforcement can legally do (see the boundary section below).
01 — Airspace threat and vulnerability assessment
A site-specific review of your facility or jurisdiction’s exposure and which tier of authority actually matches your risk.
04 — Grant positioning and sub-application support
Help building the threat justification, equipment selection, and budget narrative for a competitive FY2027 sub-application.
02 — Policy and operational plan authorship
Drafting the written implementation policy and operational plan the rule requires, built around your jurisdiction.
05 — Detect-and-warn operator training
Hands-on Tier 1 training for your personnel on the detection equipment your agency selects.
03 — System integration and commissioning
Installing and commissioning Authorized Technologies List equipment so it’s actually operational.
06 — Ongoing readiness retainer
Recurring exercises, recertification tracking, and support keeping your reporting and audit trail current.
What We Don’t Do (And Why That Boundary Matters)
Nine Ten Drones does not perform drone mitigation, interdiction, jamming, or takedown, and we never will. Under the SAFER SKIES Act framework, Tier 2 mitigation authority belongs exclusively to certified law enforcement and correctional agency personnel who have completed training through the FBI’s National Counter-UAS Training Center. No contractor, vendor, or private consultant can lawfully perform mitigation on an agency’s behalf.
We’re direct about this because a vendor who implies otherwise is offering your agency a legal liability, not a service. Our role is everything around that line — assessment, funding, policy, training your personnel, integrating equipment, and keeping the program audit-ready — so that when your certified officers exercise Tier 2 authority, the program around them is built correctly.
For Correctional Facilities
Corrections has a distinct threat profile from open-jurisdiction policing: a fixed perimeter, a known population motivated to receive contraband, and a documented pattern of drones being used to deliver cell phones, drugs, and weapons into facilities.
The federal framework accounts for this directly — the FBI’s NCUTC offers an abbreviated Tier 2 mitigation training track specifically for personnel who will operate only within a correctional facility’s controlled airspace, rather than the full two-week course built for open-area law enforcement scenarios. That shorter path still requires the same underlying policy, reporting, and Authorized Technologies List compliance as any other Tier 2 program.
We work with facility administrators on perimeter-specific threat assessment, policy built around a fixed-boundary environment, and coordinating training pathways for your detection and (where applicable) certified mitigation personnel.
What a First Engagement Looks Like
Week 1 — Assessment
We walk your facility or jurisdiction, review prior incident history, and identify realistic threat vectors and the tier of authority that matches them.
Weeks 2–3 — Findings & Roadmap
A written assessment: what’s exposed, what tier you need, an equipment shortlist, and a staffing and certification timeline.
Weeks 4–6 — Policy & Funding
We draft your implementation policy and operational plan while building the documentation your FY2027 grant sub-application will need.
Ongoing — Training & Retainer
We run detect-and-warn training, commission your systems, and (if you choose the retainer) keep exercises and reporting on schedule.
Frequently Asked Questions
Our Clients
Contact Us
Interested in starting a UAS program?
Need additional information?
