Joint Interagency Task Force 401 hosted its second interagency summit last month to accelerate cooperation against rapidly evolving drone threats.
The gathering brought together more than 200 leaders and experts from 75 departments and agencies to synchronize efforts to strengthen homeland defense against drones.
The task force is the War Department’s premier counter-unmanned aircraft agency. Building on the momentum following the first full year since it was established in August 2025, the summit emphasized growing interagency partnerships that are rapidly delivering counter-UAS capabilities to warfighters, federal partners and local law enforcement.
“Drones have fundamentally changed the operational environment,” said Army Brig. Gen. Matt Ross, JIATF 401 director. “To meet this challenge, we must outpace our adversaries by working together to deliver capabilities quickly. This summit is one way we are synchronizing a whole-of-government effort to secure our borders, defend the national airspace and protect the American people.”
Discussions primarily focused on establishing a unified, cross-domain common operating picture for air traffic in areas critical for national security. Participants also took part in collaborative breakout groups focused on five key areas of counter-UAS integration for homeland defense:
- Major-event and critical-infrastructure preparation;
- Reporting, jurisdiction and information sharing;
- Authorities, policy and legislation;
- Capability access and the counter-UAS marketplace;
- Testing, standards and integration.
The summit allowed participants to identify challenges, share best practices and strengthen coordination across agencies, while also highlighting innovations in the counter-UAS marketplace pioneered by JIATF 401.
It also highlighted the War Department’s efforts to transition emerging counter-UAS technologies from testing toward operational employment. The task force is conducting a directed-energy pilot program at multiple military installations to evaluate high-energy lasers, high-power microwaves and other novel technologies in an operational environment. Together, these initiatives demonstrate JIATF 401’s commitment to accelerating innovation, strengthening interagency partnerships and delivering effective counter-drone capabilities to the warfighter.
“My charge for this summit is for each of you to walk away with specific actions to address problems,” Ross said. “We are all in this together, and it will take all of us working together to effectively counter the threat of drones and keep our warfighters and the American people safe.”
The summit concluded with a unified commitment to maintain continuous interagency teamwork and information sharing. By aligning efforts across the department, interagency partners and federal agencies, JIATF 401 continues to cut through bureaucracy and rapidly deliver state-of-the-art counter-drone capabilities to warfighters worldwide.
By Army LTC Adam Scher, Joint Interagency Task Force 401
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