Don't fly your drone near an airport. If that common sense wisdom hasn't taken hold quite yet, the FAA wants to make it a little clearer. They're expanding their Pathfinder program, which seeks to "evaluate procedures and technologies designed to identify unauthorized UAS [unmanned aircraft systems] operations in and around airports." In other words, how to keep stray UAVs the hell away from the tarmac. 

The FAA has signed contracts with companies like drone detection specialists  like Gryphon Sensors, drone disruptors like Liteye Systems and drone security specialists Sensofusion. The government is bringing together leaders in the niche but growing industry of drone detection together for what it calls in a press release "collaborative efforts."

The news comes at a time when UAVs and airplanes are having more and more close encounters. In March, a drone came within 120 feet of a 757 during a takeoff in Manchester, England. The same month, a UAV nearly collided with a Lufthansa Airbus A380 touching down in Los Angeles. And in April, an Air France Airbus A320 reported that a drone came within 20 feet of its left wing during landing at Charles de Gaulle Airport, forcing the pilots to do manual maneuvers to avoid contact. 

Each of these companies working with the FAA has their own specialties. Gryphon focuses on customizable drone detection for venues, highlighting stadiums, airports, and even prisons on their website. Sensofusion takes a more militaristic approach, noting how its AIRFENCE system works with radio frequency detection and has "over 3 years of military testing" in addition to a partnership with the Finnish Defense Forces.

Liteye has a speciality in thermal imaging systems, as well as tracking electromagnetic radiation. They're also no stranger to this type of collaboration, having worked with the British government to develop the Anti-UAV Detection Systems, better known as AUDS. To get a sense of what the FAA is trying to build, AUDS is a helpful map and as luck would have there's a video describing how it operates. (Bonus: The video has a surprisingly bouncy electronic soundtrack.)

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David Grossman

David Grossman is a staff writer for PopularMechanics.com. He's previously written for The Verge, Rolling Stone, The New Republic and several other publications. He's based out of Brooklyn.