The FEMA Counter-UAS Grant Program is coming back around, and most states aren't ready
The FEMA Counter-UAS Grant Program is about to open its second, and much wider, funding round. Phase 1 sent $250 million to the 11 states hosting World Cup matches and the National Capital Region. Phase 2, expected as early as October, sends the remaining $250 million to all states and territories, with FEMA's stated focus on building national drone detection and response capacity.
If your agency has been waiting for a funding path for drone detection, this is it. But the way Phase 1 ran tells you the window will be short, and the agencies that come out ahead will be the ones that did the work before the Notice of Funding Opportunity (NOFO) publishes.
Funding is coming, and here's why it matters
Drone activity is already a daily operational problem for the public safety agencies this program was built for.
For corrections, the problem is contraband. The Federal Bureau of Prisons reported 479 drone incidents in 2024, up from 23 in 2018. Twenty-one state attorneys general have asked the White House's airspace task force for help with contraband drops, and Georgia's Department of Corrections logged close to 58 drone incidents a month across a recent six-month stretch.
For law enforcement, the problem is events, venues, and critical infrastructure. When our partner AirSight measured the airspace around Orlando International Airport, it counted roughly 9,500 drone flights in about eleven weeks. Most were harmless. Without a detection layer, though, an agency has no way to know which ones weren't.
For State Administrative Agencies (SAAs), the issue is responsibility. SAAs are the only entities that can apply to FEMA for this program, and they administer the funds for every law enforcement, corrections, fire, EMS, and emergency management subrecipient in the state. The strength of the state's application decides how much of that $250 million comes home and how well it gets used.
The program pays for more than hardware. It funds equipment, training, and the interagency coordination that turns a detection into a response, which is exactly the capability most agencies are missing.
Preparation wins
Phase 1 moved at a pace FEMA itself called historic. The NOFO published on October 28, 2025, applications closed on December 5, and awards went out December 30, 25 days after the deadline. Some SAAs closed their subrecipient windows even earlier.
That is roughly five weeks to complete a risk assessment, define a project, gather subrecipient requests, and write an application. In practice, that means the states that submitted strong packages had most of the work done before the NOFO existed. Competitive dollars in Phase 1 were awarded based on the anticipated effectiveness of proposed projects, and effectiveness is hard to demonstrate in an application assembled in a hurry.
Expect the same in Phase 2. An agency that starts when the NOFO publishes is already behind.
Integration beats equipment
The most common mistake we see in counter-drone planning is treating the grant as a hardware purchase. A sensor generates an alert. It doesn't answer the question that matters: what happens next?
That question is why Strategic Communications partnered with AirSight. Their AirGuard platform is open-architecture and hardware-agnostic, so Remote ID, radio frequency, radar, and camera layers from different manufacturers feed one operating picture, with the pilot's location displayed alongside the drone's. Radar picks up drones that don't broadcast a signal. Drone detections are pushed into video management systems, drone-as-first-responder programs, real-time crime centers, and emergency operations centers, so the alert reaches the people who can act on it.
That is the difference between a sensor and an operational capability, and it is what this program is meant to build. During the NFL Pro Bowl in Orlando, AirGuard flagged unauthorized drones inside the restricted perimeter and pinpointed the pilot's position, and Orlando Police were able to address the situation.
For a correctional facility, the same integration means an alert at the fence line reaches facility staff and local law enforcement at the same moment, with the pilot's location attached, and historical flight data builds a picture of drop zones over time.
What to do now
Four things should be underway before the Phase 2 NOFO publishes:
1. Engage your SAA. Law enforcement, corrections, and all other state agencies don't apply directly; they're funded as subrecipients. If your agency isn't in your SAA's risk assessment, it won't be in the application. SAAs, in turn, should be identifying and engaging those subrecipients now.
2. Complete risk assessments. Document where drone activity matters: facilities, venues, events, and infrastructure. This is the foundation the application is built on.
3. Define an integrated package. Describe detection, response, and coordination as one capability rather than a list of parts.
4. Prepare application materials. Draft now, so the NOFO fills in dates and dollar figures instead of starting the writing.
Procurement shouldn't slow you down after the award, either. Strategic Communications' Sourcewell and NASPO ValuePoint contracts can streamline purchasing so the funding doesn't sit waiting on a solicitation.
Talk to our UAS team
Our UAS team works with SAAs, law enforcement, and corrections agencies to prepare for the FEMA Counter-UAS Grant Program: engaging the right people, shaping the risk assessment, and defining a package built on the anti-drone solution from our partner AirSight. Schedule a meeting with our UAS team and we'll help you see where your agency stands before the clock starts
