FEMA released the FY2027 Counter-UAS Grant Program funding notice on October 16, opening a second $250 million round to all 56 states and territories. State placeholder applications are due November 16, and local agencies will then work with their State Administrative Agencies on detailed proposals.
Most of that planning starts with sensors. RF, radar, EO/IR and Remote ID detection tell an agency that something is in the air, and a command post needs answers to the next questions as well. Who is flying it? Is the flight approved? Does it need a response? That middle step, identification, is where AirHub Portal fits in a drone security program.
Most drones in your airspace are friendly. Your own DFR flights, neighboring agencies, media and FAA-approved commercial operators all reach a sensor as the same unknown track. Each one can pull an officer away from the drone that needs a response.
Trained responders are scarce. Operating mitigation equipment requires certification through the FBI’s National Counter-UAS Training Center, so few officers in any agency are qualified to act on a drone. Every unit sent to a friendly flight is a unit unavailable for a real threat.
Drones cross jurisdiction lines. A drone can move from one jurisdiction to the next in minutes, yet police, fire and neighboring agencies often can’t see each other’s sensors or drone teams. Separate feeds lead to overlapping or stalled responses.
Picture two tracks near a stadium on game day.
With detection alone, both show up as unknown. Track 0417 is an RF and radar hit at 220 feet above ground level, six-tenths of a mile from the stadium. Track 0418 is a radar-only hit at 380 feet, four-tenths of a mile out. Units go to both, the search for each pilot starts from scratch, and the real threat waits in line behind a friendly.
With AirHub Portal, the same two tracks arrive with context. Track 0417 matches an approved city public safety mission, with the operator on file and the drone inside its approved area and altitude, so it’s marked conforming. Track 0418 matches no known operation or whitelist entry and is inside an active TFR, closing on the venue, so it’s marked risk. The friendly is cleared at a glance, and every available unit and partner agency focuses on Track 0418.
A drone security program works in layers, with sensors detecting the aircraft, an identification and operations layer sorting friend from unknown and putting every agency on one picture, and mitigation staying with the agencies that hold legal authority. AirHub Portal is that middle layer, and the workflow runs in four steps:
Know your friendlies. Every public safety flight is requested, approved and logged in one workflow. Shared operations from partner agencies, preset whitelists, TFRs, custom map layers and jurisdictional boundaries feed the same picture, so known drones are recognized before a sensor flags them.
Classify in seconds. Each track gains who is authorized, where and how high. Commanders act on a classification instead of a dot on a screen, which cuts false alarms and wasted dispatches.
Coordinate the response. Police, fire, airports, venues and neighboring jurisdictions see the same airspace, along with FAA data and live air traffic. DFR teams can be sent to locate a pilot while ground units are still in traffic.
Defend the decision. Each detection, classification and action is logged automatically, giving commanders documentation for after-action review, prosecution or litigation without relying on notes and screenshots.
AirHub Portal is vendor agnostic. It takes in tracks from Axon, Dedrone, DroneShield and other systems, so neighboring agencies can share sensors and costs instead of building separate islands of coverage.
The FY2027 round funds more than equipment. Planning, organization, training and exercises are all eligible, and contracted C-UAS services, including wide-area detection and data-sharing services, are allowable costs. Three details stand out for agencies planning their requests:
During the FIFA World Cup 2026, Kansas City used DroneShield RF detection and Echodyne radar, with AirHub Portal as the shared picture. Fifteen federal, state and local agencies across Missouri and Kansas worked from one platform, drawing on 38 sensors from two vendors, through six matches and the FIFA Fan Festival, with more than 800,000 attendances. Agencies funded in round one can apply again to expand their capabilities, as long as the request doesn’t duplicate what’s already funded.
Questions about your region’s part of the state application? Email marketing@airspacelink.com.