August 5, 2026: Civilian use of drones for land survey, collecting marketing data, and construction supervision is endangered as American federal and state governments rush to regulate drone use. This is due to the Ukraine War use of drones and overactive imaginations of journalists and government bureaucrats about what should be done. To a bureaucrat, the usual response is to appear as active as possible, no matter what collateral damage that causes. In the current situation, regulations have been issued making it illegal for businesses to use drones as they have for years. Civilian use of drones is also restricted, but since many of these users are adventurous teenagers, enforcement has been difficult. This won’t last long, as most of those involved are voters and the businesses contribute large sums to politicians. That buys them access to government officials to make complaints and get problems resolved.

This is not a new problem. In late 2018, Britain faced an aviation crisis after someone allegedly flew a drone near a runway at Gatwick Airport outside London on several occasions. Between December 19 and 21, more than 100 people, including police officers and airport pilots, reported seeing the drone. Some drone sightings near airports turn out to be plastic bags blown by the wind, but this one appeared to be genuine. Initial attempts to resolve the situation failed, delaying or canceling flights for more than 140,000 passengers. The mystery operator was never identified, and the incident ultimately cost more than $66 million.

The airport initially brought in an inexpensive and widely used AeroScope UAV/Unidentified Aerial Vehicle detector. AeroScope is made by DJI, the Chinese firm that builds most of the drones on the market. DJI includes a microchip in its drones that embeds the drone operator's information in the control signal. AeroScope is a briefcase-sized device that uses two small antennas to monitor for a DJI control signal within 5 kilometers. If a control signal is detected, the AeroScope display shows the AeroScope operator data about the DJI drone, including location, altitude, speed, direction, takeoff location, operator location, and an identifier such as a registration or serial number.

The Gatwick drone was either not a DJI model or was one that had been altered, not easy to do but possible by someone familiar with drone control hardware and software. The military was consulted, and they brought in one of their recently acquired Drone Dome systems a few months earlier. These cost $3.4 million each and consist of a 360-degree radar system, an electro-optical day/night surveillance unit, and a wideband detector. With all this, Drone Dome can reliably detect any small drone or fixed-wing drone within 3,500 meters. Most quadcopters and fixed-wing models encountered are larger and can be detected out to 10 kilometers. Once spotted, Drone Dome can use a focused jamming signal to disrupt radio-control signals and force the drone to crash or operate erratically. Drone Dome has an optional laser gun that can be aimed to destroy the drone at ranges up to 2,000 meters. In a combat zone, you can also employ machine guns to bring down the drone. The British military did not purchase the laser option but was able to reliably detect a wide range of small quadcopters from several manufacturers during tests earlier in 2019. It was not revealed whether Drone Dome detected anything at Gatwick, but the drone sightings stopped, and Gatwick has since brought in a similar system to be permanently available to detect illegal drones operating around the airport.