The White House has announced a $500 million drone security initiative aimed at strengthening US airspace security ahead of next year’s football World Cup.
The Trump administration intends to support states and local governments in developing effective anti-drone strategies, as the tournament will be hosted across the United States, Canada and Mexico.
The funding will be made available to all US states but will primarily be directed towards securing the stadiums where matches will be held.
“Everybody from the governors to different commissioners of the police in these different cities to the stadium chief security officer say that this is something that they need in order to protect the [World Cup] sites,” said Andrew Giuliani, director of the White House’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Task Force, in an interview with Politico.
The administration is also working on contingency plans that would allow local authorities to shoot down suspicious drones if Congress fails to approve the measure.
Last June, president Donald Trump signed a series of executive orders aimed at improving the protection of US airspace.
