Using Unmanned Aerial Systems Within the Homeland: Security Game-Changer?
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USING UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS WITHIN THE HOMELAND: SECURITY GAME-CHANGER? HEARING BEFORE THE SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT, INVESTIGATIONS, AND MANAGEMENT OF THE COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES ONE HUNDRED TWELFTH CONGRESS SECOND SESSION JULY 19, 2012 Serial No. 112–107 Printed for the use of the Committee on Homeland Security Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.gpo.gov/fdsys/ U.S. GOVERNMENT PRINTING OFFICE 80–848 PDF WASHINGTON : 2013 For sale by the Superintendent of Documents, U.S. Government Printing Office Internet: bookstore.gpo.gov Phone: toll free (866) 512–1800; DC area (202) 512–1800 Fax: (202) 512–2250 Mail: Stop SSOP, Washington, DC 20402–0001 COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY PETER T. KING, New York, Chairman LAMAR SMITH, Texas BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi DANIEL E. LUNGREN, California LORETTA SANCHEZ, California MIKE ROGERS, Alabama SHEILA JACKSON LEE, Texas MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas HENRY CUELLAR, Texas GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York PAUL C. BROUN, Georgia LAURA RICHARDSON, California CANDICE S. MILLER, Michigan DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois TIM WALBERG, Michigan BRIAN HIGGINS, New York CHIP CRAVAACK, Minnesota CEDRIC L. RICHMOND, Louisiana JOE WALSH, Illinois HANSEN CLARKE, Michigan PATRICK MEEHAN, Pennsylvania WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts BEN QUAYLE, Arizona KATHLEEN C. HOCHUL, New York SCOTT RIGELL, Virginia JANICE HAHN, California BILLY LONG, Missouri RON BARBER, Arizona JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania BLAKE FARENTHOLD, Texas ROBERT L. TURNER, New York MICHAEL J. RUSSELL, Staff Director/Chief Counsel KERRY ANN WATKINS, Senior Policy Director MICHAEL S. TWINCHEK, Chief Clerk I. LANIER AVANT, Minority Staff Director SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT, INVESTIGATIONS, AND MANAGEMENT MICHAEL T. MCCAUL, Texas, Chairman GUS M. BILIRAKIS, Florida WILLIAM R. KEATING, Massachusetts BILLY LONG, Missouri, Vice Chair YVETTE D. CLARKE, New York JEFF DUNCAN, South Carolina DANNY K. DAVIS, Illinois TOM MARINO, Pennsylvania BENNIE G. THOMPSON, Mississippi (Ex Officio) PETER T. KING, New York (Ex Officio) DR. R. NICK PALARINO, Staff Director DIANA BERGWIN, Subcommittee Clerk TAMLA SCOTT, Minority Subcommittee Director (II) C O N T E N T S Page STATEMENTS The Honorable Michael T. McCaul, a Representative in Congress From the State of Texas, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 1 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 3 The Honorable William R. Keating, a Representative in Congress From the State of Massachusetts, and Ranking Member, Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management: Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 30 The Honorable Henry Cuellar, a Representative in Congress From the State of Texas ................................................................................................................. 5 The Honorable Bennie G. Thompson, a Representative in Congress From the State of Mississippi, and Ranking Member, Committee on Homeland Security: Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 10 WITNESSES PANEL I Mr. Todd E. Humphreys, Ph.D., Assistant Professor, Cockrell School of Engi- neering, The University of Texas at Austin: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 12 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 13 PANEL II Mr. Gerald L. Dillingham, Ph.D., Director, Physical Infrastructure Issues, Government Accountability Office: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 36 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 38 Chief Deputy William R. McDaniel, Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, Con- roe, Texas: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 46 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 47 Ms. Amie Stepanovich, Litigation Counsel, Electronic Privacy Information Center: Oral Statement ..................................................................................................... 49 Prepared Statement ............................................................................................. 50 FOR THE RECORD The Honorable Michael T. McCaul, a Representative in Congress From the State of Texas, and Chairman, Subcommittee on Oversight, Investigations, and Management: Statement of Michael Toscano, President and CEO, Association for Un- manned Vehicle Systems International (AUVSI) .......................................... 6 Letter From the Air Line Pilots Association International .............................. 9 Association for Unmanned Vehicle Systems International: Unmanned Aircraft System Operations Industry ‘‘Code of Conduct’’ .............. 61 (III) USING UNMANNED AERIAL SYSTEMS WITHIN THE HOMELAND: SECURITY GAME-CHANGER? Thursday, July 19, 2012 U.S. HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, SUBCOMMITTEE ON OVERSIGHT, INVESTIGATIONS, AND MANAGEMENT, COMMITTEE ON HOMELAND SECURITY, Washington, DC. The subcommittee met, pursuant to call, at 9:40 a.m., in Room 311, Cannon House Office Building, Hon. Michael T. McCaul [Chairman of the subcommittee] presiding. Present: Representatives McCaul, Long, Duncan, Marino, Keating, Clarke, and Davis. Also present: Representatives Cuellar and Brady. Mr. MCCAUL. The committee will come to order. First and as a matter of business, Mr. Keating is running late, and I would ask unanimous consent that Mr. Cuellar sit as the Ranking Member of the subcommittee for this hearing. Seeing no objection? Mr. Dun- can, you have no objection to that? I now recognize myself for an opening statement. Unmanned aerial systems, commonly known as drones, have been a game-changer for our men and women serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. The systems have provided our troops with much- needed eyes in the skies and have taken the fight to the enemy, eliminating some of the most dangerous al-Qaeda terrorists. Drones have also increased our capabilities to secure our borders and aid our first responders. U.S. Customs and Border Protection began first looking at these drones back in 2004. Now CBP owns 10 UAS aircraft. These sys- tems have been used to surveil drug smuggler tunnels, video dams, bridges, levees, riverbeds at risk of flooding, and assist with the de- ployment of National Guard resources responding to local flooding. CBP has also flown missions in support of the Border Patrol, Texas Rangers, U.S. Forest Service, FBI, and others. The systems have become a force multiplier for military operations and for border se- curity. However, we are on the edge of a new horizon: Using unmanned aerial systems within the homeland. Currently, there are 200 ac- tive Certificates of Authorization issued by the Federal Aviation Administration to over 100 different entities, such as law enforce- ment departments and academic institutions, to fly drones domesti- cally. This map on the monitor shows the locations of COA, or COA recipients as of April 2012. The number of recipients since that time has in fact increased. (1) 2 The FAA plans to select six test sites around the country for the use of non-Government drones this year and plans to allow the de- ployment of non-Government drones Nation-wide by the year 2015. While the FAA is responsible for ensuring these systems fly safe- ly in U.S. airspace, with only 21⁄2 short years until drones begin to dominate the skies in the U.S. homeland, no Federal agency is tak- ing the lead to deal with the full implications of using unmanned aerial systems and developing the relevant policies and guidelines for their use. This is despite the fact that 4 years ago the Govern- ment Accountability Office recommended to the Secretary of Home- land Security that she direct the TSA Administrator to examine the security implications of future, non-military UAS operations in the National airspace system and take any actions deemed appro- priate. GAO’s recommendation was well-founded because in 2004, TSA issued an advisory that described possible terrorist interest in using UASs as weapons. The advisory noted the potential for UASs to carry explosives or disperse chemical or biological weapons. It discussed how the Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, or FARC, and Hezbollah were interested in acquiring these UASs. While the advisory acknowledged there was no credible evidence to suggest that terrorist organizations planned to use these systems in the United States, it did state that the United States Govern- ment was concerned that these aerial vehicles could be modified and used to attack key assets and critical infrastructures within the United States. These concerns were validated just last week, or last year when a Massachusetts man agreed to plead guilty to attempting to dam- age and destroy Federal buildings. The individual was arrested in September 2011 after an undercover FBI investigation revealed his plot to use multiple remote controlled aircraft laden with explosives to collapse the dome of the United