US officials scramble to prepare for drone threats at World Cup sites weeks before games begin

Federal and local officials are scrambling to prepare for potential drone threats at World Cup sites across the United States, weeks before the first game on June 12 in Inglewood, California, between Paraguay and the United States. A shortage of counter-drone equipment, a 76-day Homeland Security budget standoff that ended April 30, and new authorities under the Safer Skies Act that are still being implemented have compounded security gaps.

Eight of the 78 U.S.-based World Cup games will be played in the Los Angeles area. Secret Service Director Sean Curran told lawmakers in April that the Los Angeles area was “not ready for drone detection and mitigation,” adding that the agency would come in to train law enforcement personnel. Curran faulted “supply chain issues” for the counter-drone technology shortage, noting that the Secret Service spent more than $100 million in the past year and a half to get up to speed. He said the agency would lean on the Pentagon for support.

Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin said earlier this month that “the threat level is extremely high,” speaking broadly about the overall security environment. In a statement, a DHS spokesperson said the agency is working “around the clock” with federal, state, local and international partners. DHS accused Democrats of undermining preparations during the 76-day budget standoff that ended April 30, saying the lapse left the department unable to carry out operational preparations.

The Safer Skies Act, passed in December 2025, mandates that DHS and the Justice Department, working with the Pentagon and Transportation Department, develop and publish fresh rules for state and local law enforcement counter-drone operations. “The rules are still being written,” a drone industry official granted anonymity to speak candidly said.

FBI Director Kash Patel told lawmakers on Tuesday that the FBI’s drone training center in Huntsville, Alabama, has graduated 65 state police personnel. “The wait list is long,” Patel said during a Senate hearing on the FBI’s budget request. “Every single agency across the country wants their police officers there” for its advanced training capabilities, he said. The drone official said the center “graduate[s] a class every three weeks.”

White House World Cup task force executive director Andrew Giuliani said in an interview last month that “the president looked at counter UAS drones as being a major, major threat, and realized that we need to put another 500 million [dollars] in terms of reimbursement into counter UAS.” In December, FEMA announced that $250 million would go to 11 states hosting the World Cup and the Washington region to prepare for the United States’ 250th anniversary.

DHS official Alice Hong, director of DHS’ National Urban Security Technology Laboratory, said earlier this month that federal, state, local, and private stadium operators will bring their “counter-drone kits” to stadiums for the games, but that all these entities must be “highly coordinated” on a plan for surveying the skies. Otherwise, “these systems can actually interfere with one another and create gaps in coverage,” she said.

Los Angeles Police Department Detective Michael Hackman, who heads the LAPD’s counter-drone program, disputed Curran’s assertion that local officials are unprepared. He said LAPD is “highly prepared,” and that its personnel have supported multiple counter-drone operations with the FBI’s Los Angeles office. The World Cup games in the Los Angeles area will be played at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood — outside LAPD’s jurisdiction — but LAPD will oversee security for the FIFA Fan Fest and several official Fan Zones nearby, Hackman said. LAPD uses a layered system combining remote ID, radio frequency detection, radar, and camera technologies, and employs cyber and electronic countermeasures alongside ground teams, he said.

The police department in Arlington, Texas — which has jurisdiction over the “Entertainment District” housing AT&T Stadium, where nine matches will be played — said it does not yet have the infrastructure to carry out mitigation operations on its own. The department said it has long maintained drone-detection systems there and is working to expand to include ways to disable drones, and recently received more delegated local authority. Some Arlington personnel have completed specialized training at the FBI’s Huntsville center, the department said.