The Secret Service is conducting middle-of-the-night drone flights near the White House in secret tests to devise a defense against the unmanned aircraft, The Associated Press has learned.
The drones will be flown between 1 a.m. and 4 a.m. during the next several weeks over parts of Washington — airspace that’s usually off limits as a no-fly zone, according to a U.S. official briefed on the plans. Among the tests is the use of signal-jamming technology to thwart control of a remotely piloted aircraft, the official said.
The challenge for the Secret Service is how to quickly detect a rogue drone flying near the White House or another location where the president is, then within moments either hacking its guidance mechanism to seize control or jamming its signal to send it off course or make it crash.
Some consumer-level drones, which commonly carry video cameras, have enough lifting power to carry small amounts of explosives.
Federal agencies generally need approval to jam signals from a Commerce Department agency, the National Telecommunications and Information Administration. The agency declined to say whether the Secret Service sought permission.
The Federal Aviation Administration has confirmed it formally authorized the Secret Service to fly the drones and granted a waiver to fly them over Washington. The agency declined to provide specifics.
In January, a wayward quadcopter drone piloted by an off-duty U.S. intelligence employee landed on the White House lawn. The Secret Service said the landing appeared to be accidental and not a security threat.
Published reports have disclosed that the Secret Service already uses jammers in high-level motorcades to disrupt signals that might detonate remotely triggered bombs.
