# What This Bill Does: Giving the State Department Power to Take Down Drones

This bill would give the U.S. State Department new authority to detect, disable, and destroy drones that it believes pose a threat to its facilities and personnel. Specifically, it would allow the State Department's security teams and contractors to take action against unmanned aircraft systems (drones) without needing permission from the Federal Aviation Administration or following normal aviation rules. The bill would last for seven years before automatically expiring, unless Congress extends it.

The State Department could take several actions against drones it considers threatening. These include tracking and monitoring drones, jamming their communications to disable them, seizing control of them, confiscating them, or using force to destroy them. The bill also allows the State Department to intercept and access communications used to control the drones. Before using any of these technologies, the State Department would need to test and train with them first. Importantly, the bill requires the State Department to coordinate with the Federal Aviation Administration to make sure these drone-disabling activities don't interfere with regular air traffic, airport operations, or the safety of manned aircraft.

The bill includes privacy protections requiring that any communications intercepted from drones be handled carefully and only kept for up to 180 days unless there's a legal reason to keep them longer. The information can only be shared with law enforcement or other government agencies under specific circumstances. The State Department would also have to report to Congress every six months about how it's using these powers, what incidents have occurred, and how it's protecting people's privacy and civil rights. The bill limits these powers to protecting specific State Department facilities and assets that have been identified as high-risk targets, and it requires the State Department to get special training before personnel can use these drone-disabling technologies.