Drone Ops Consultants

Counter-drone advice

Drone threat assessment

Airports, prisons, stadiums, energy and utility sites and event organisers may need a plan for drones flown over or near them, whether by careless hobbyists or by people who intend harm. Counter-drone advice helps a site owner work out how exposed the site is, what it can lawfully do about it, and when to involve the police.

This guide is written for site owners and security managers rather than drone operators. It covers assessing the drone risk to a site, the legal limits on countermeasures in the UK, police powers under the Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Act 2021, restricted airspace as a deterrent, reporting misuse and buying detection systems, with a short note on the United States. It does not explain how to disable a drone. Facts were checked against Home Office, NPSA, Ofcom, CAA and legislation.gov.uk pages in October 2026.

Vetted consultants

2 results

Pegasus Vectoring

London, GB

Pegasus Vectoring provides specialist consultancy for organisations developing and operating unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) in the Specific Category. They guide clients from initial operational concept through SORA development, regulatory authorisation, and ongoing compliance assurance, ensuring safe, practical and regulator‑defensible capabilities. Services include operational design, airspace and ground environment assessment, SORA and operational authorisation support, competence development

Pegasus Vectoring Limited is an independent specialist consultancy helping organisations develop safe, practical and regulator-ready unmanned aviation capabilities. We start with the client’s operational need—not a predetermined regulatory solution. Working collaboratively, we define the objective, characterise the operating environment and develop a proportionate operational and regulatory strategy. Our support extends from early feasibility and concept development through risk assessment, OSC and SORA applications, operational documentation, findings resolution and ongoing assurance. Our experience includes BVLOS operations within Atypical Air Environments, critical infrastructure and heavy-lift UAS. Led by a former airline captain with 23 years of aviation experience and UK CAA and UAE GCAA Airline Transport Pilot Licences, Pegasus combines operational judgement with structured regulatory analysis. Our aim is not simply to secure an approval, but to help clients establish a safe, sustainable and scalable operational capability.

CAA

Vaspba Remote Piloted Systems Ltd

Winfrith, GB

CAA Regulatory Consultancy | Agriculture | Heavy Lift | BVLOS | Drone Forensics & Expert Witness Support

Vaspba Remote Piloted Systems Ltd is a UK specialist in uncrewed aircraft systems, regulatory consultancy and operational support. We assist organisations with CAA Operational Authorisations, PDRA and SORA applications, ConOps, Operations Manuals, risk assessments, compliance evidence and BVLOS projects. Our services also include independent drone accident investigation, flight-log analysis, technical reporting and expert-witness support for legal, insurance and commercial disputes. With practical experience in UAS design, integration, testing, servicing and operations, we provide evidence-based advice grounded in real-world aviation and engineering experience.

CAA

Assess the risk, then deter

The National Protective Security Authority (NPSA) publishes the main UK guidance for sites. It describes drone misuse ranging from reckless or negligent flying to unlawful protest, crime and terrorism, and asks sites to make a realistic assessment of their own risk. Every site already has a security risk assessment process. NPSA's advice is to work out first how the site is vulnerable to drones and what different kinds of incident would do to it, and only then choose how to reduce the risk.

That assessment feeds a counter-drone strategy and plan, which NPSA says should build on the security measures the site already has. The plan sets out what needs to happen, who is involved and by when. NPSA stresses working with the police from the start, whether that is the local force or the force that polices a particular site.

NPSA says simpler, cheaper measures to reduce negligent and reckless flying should come first. These include:

  • Engaging with local businesses and the community
  • Security-minded communications about the site
  • Airspace restrictions and geo-fencing
  • Physical measures such as concealment, barriers and hardening of key assets
  • Making nearby places a drone could be launched from less appealing, with cover from view, lighting and controlled access

What the law allows: detection and mitigation

NPSA splits counter-drone technology into two groups: systems that detect, track and identify a drone, and systems that also act against it (often called effectors). The legal position is very different for each.

Acting against a drone is tightly restricted. Ofcom states that using apparatus, without authority, for the purpose of deliberately interfering with wireless telegraphy is a criminal offence, punishable by up to two years in prison and an unlimited fine. Ofcom does not authorize or license jammers, and notes that various laws allow them only in some special cases, such as in prisons and by the police and other agencies. The Home Office's 2019 Counter-Unmanned Aircraft Strategy says the police can legally deploy a range of detection and effector systems, but that use of many counter-drone technologies outside the police is restricted. NPSA says its testing of effectors will begin only once an appropriate authorization framework is in place.

Detection is not free of legal questions either. NPSA notes that how a system works affects which laws apply, and lists the Data Protection Act 2018, the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 and the Computer Misuse Act 1990 among those to consider. It recommends that sites take legal advice while they define what they need. In practice, a private site's plan is built around detecting, recording and reporting, with any action against the drone itself left to the police or another body with legal authority.

In the United States, the SAFER SKIES Act, passed as part of the defense authorization act for fiscal year 2026, gave state, local, tribal and territorial law enforcement and correctional agencies authority to counter drone threats, provided they complete Department of Justice training and certification. US site owners should check the current federal position and take legal advice before buying any system.

Police powers and reporting misuse

Schedule 8 of the Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Act 2021 gives police officers specific powers over drones. A constable can require a person to ground a drone where they reasonably believe that person is controlling it and suspect it has been, is, or is likely to be involved in an offence. Officers can also stop and search people and vehicles, enter and search premises under a warrant, and seize and keep drones and related items as evidence. The Act also lets authorizations under the Police Act 1997 to interfere with property cover preventing or detecting drone use in certain offences, and extends this to prison authorities.

How police forces respond to drone incidents, and their own drone procedures, may change, so agree the response with your local force when you plan rather than assuming a particular one.

The CAA lists places where flying without authorization is illegal, including very close to prisons and airports, over large crowds such as an outdoor concert, and in controlled or restricted airspace. If a site sits inside a Flight Restriction Zone or another restriction, flying there without permission is an offence the police can act on. Our guide to Flight Restriction Zone permission explains how those zones work.

The CAA says to call your local police on 101 if you see a drone flown in any of those places, and 999 if there is an immediate danger to life or a threat of violence. NPSA advises sites to set up reporting processes that capture the key facts, and lists evidence to support investigation and prosecution as one of the aims of a detection system.

Buying detection systems and planning the response

NPSA advises that technical countermeasures are for sites where the risk still calls for them after the simpler measures. Before buying, it recommends an operational requirement: a clear statement of what the site needs, built on a completed counter-drone strategy, response plan, vulnerability assessment and risk assessment. NPSA lists four aims for a detection system: early warning of a drone approaching or over the site, quick tasking of people and equipment, information for decisions about running the site safely during and after an incursion, and evidence for prosecution.

NPSA has a counter-drone standard and lists equipment that has passed its evaluation in its Catalog of Security Equipment, which it recommends using. It also advises speaking to an NPSA adviser before detailed planning, and asking how any system will work with existing security systems. Alongside any equipment, NPSA expects a patrol plan, reporting processes, a way to assess each incident as it happens, response plans that are proportionate, lawful and have clear lines of accountability, and table-top and field exercises to test it all.

What a consultant does, and what to ask before hiring

A consultant can support the drone vulnerability assessment, map the airspace restrictions around a site, draft the counter-drone strategy and plan, write the operational requirement before you speak to suppliers, and design exercises with your security team and the police. They are not a substitute for legal advice on specific equipment, and they cannot change airspace restrictions, direct the police or promise an outcome. Those decisions sit with the CAA, government and the police. Consultants listed on DOC are vetted (identity, legal entity, sanctions screening and professional indemnity insurance), and regulator experience is shown as verified only where it has been evidenced.

  • Which types of site have you advised on drone risk, and how recently?
  • Will you work alongside our security team, the local police and any NPSA adviser?
  • Can you write an operational requirement before we approach suppliers?
  • Do you have any commercial links to equipment suppliers?
  • Who will give us legal advice on the systems we are considering?

Common mistakes

Sites that are new to drone risk often make these errors:

  • Buying equipment before a risk assessment and an operational requirement exist
  • Assuming that a system on sale in the UK is lawful for a private site to use
  • Treating jamming or taking control of a drone as an option for site security staff
  • Skipping cheaper measures such as community engagement, security-minded communications and controlling nearby launch areas
  • Installing detection with no agreed response plan, reporting route or exercise program
  • Leaving the police out until after an incident

Common questions

Can a private site jam or take down a drone in the UK?

Generally, no. Ofcom states it is a criminal offence to use apparatus, without authority, to deliberately interfere with wireless telegraphy, and Ofcom does not authorize or license jammers. Ofcom notes that various laws allow them in some special cases, such as in prisons and by the police. The Home Office's strategy says the use of many counter-drone technologies outside the police is restricted. Report the drone to the police instead.

Is drone detection legal for a private site?

Detection is treated separately from acting against a drone, but it still raises legal questions. NPSA says the laws that apply depend on how a system works, and lists the Data Protection Act 2018, the Investigatory Powers Act 2016, the Wireless Telegraphy Act 2006 and the Computer Misuse Act 1990 among those to consider. It recommends taking legal advice while you define your requirement.

What can the police do about a drone near my site?

Under the Air Traffic Management and Unmanned Aircraft Act 2021, a constable can require a person to ground a drone if they reasonably believe that person is flying it and suspect it is involved in an offence. Officers can also stop and search people and vehicles, search premises under a warrant, and seize drones and related items as evidence. Police procedures for drone incidents may change, so agree the response with your local force in advance.

Who should I call if I see a drone over my site?

The CAA says to call your local police on 101 if a drone is flown in a place where that is illegal without authorization, such as very close to a prison or airport, over a large crowd, or in restricted airspace. Call 999 if there is an immediate danger to life or a threat of violence. Note what you saw and when, so the police have facts to act on.

Does restricted airspace stop drones flying near my site?

It reduces the risk. NPSA lists airspace restrictions and geo-fencing among the measures that reduce negligent and reckless flying, and flying in restricted airspace without permission is an offence the police can act on. A person who intends harm may ignore the rules, so NPSA guidance pairs these measures with physical, operational and, where the risk calls for it, technical measures.