Lawmakers seek drone-fighting abilities for federal nuclear facilities

A bipartisan group of lawmakers want to give the Energy Department component charged with managing the country’s nuclear stockpile more power to protect against unmanned aerial systems flying nearby. 

The Nuclear Ecosystem Drone Defense (NEDD) Act from Reps. Susie Lee, D-Nev., Mark Amodei, R-Nev., Chuck Fleischmann, R-Tenn., and Seth Moulton, D-Mass.,would expand the National Nuclear Security Administration’s authority to build and develop counter-drone technology. The legislation, introduced Tuesday, comes in response to a series of unauthorized drone sightings near NNSA facilities.

While the NNSA has the power to defend infrastructure that houses nuclear material, the semi-autonomous Energy Department component needs the ability to protect other nuclear-related systems, the lawmakers argue.

The legislation will allow NNSA to protect facilities that store the components of nuclear weapons as well as vehicles that might be used for their transport. The bill would also empower the NNSA to purchase drone technology and develop systems to defend against drone threats. 

Drones remain a major concern for the NNSA. The Federal Aviation Administration can bar drones from flying through the airspace over nuclear facilities, but sightings of unmanned aerial systems are common. Amodei said in a press release that there have been six recent incidents near the NNSA’s national security site in Nevada. 

Lee, who sits on the House Appropriations Committee’s Defense Subcommittee, said in a statement that “unauthorized drones pose a serious threat to America’s nuclear resources related to national security, including at the Nevada National Security Site where we maintain America’s nuclear weapons ecosystem.” 

“Our bipartisan NEDD Act bill will give the Department of Energy the tools it needs to defend all its nuclear and national security assets from unauthorized enemy drones,” Lee added.  

The NNSA previously said it deployed a system to counter unauthorized drones flying over its Y-12 National Security Complex, located near the Oak Ridge National Laboratory in Tennessee. The NNSA’s acting principal deputy administrator said last year that the agency was continuing to invest in systems meant to track drones approaching its nuclear facilities, looking to systems based on open architecture, proprietary sensors, and mitigation tools. 

“Our adversaries should not be able to fly a drone over anywhere in this country that makes part of a nuclear weapon,” Moulton said in a statement. “This bill closes down loopholes to make sure the Department of Energy can fully protect our most sensitive national security capabilities against the threat of drones.” 

Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., is leading companion legislation in the Senate.