A Federal Grant Can Now Pay for Drone Security. Here's What Utah Agencies Should Do Before It Opens.

ClearPoint Aero | October 2026

If you run a police department, a sheriff's office, a county emergency management program, a jail, or a public airport in Utah, there is money coming your way for drone security.

Most agencies don't know it yet.

This post explains what the grant is, what it pays for, and what you can do now so you're ready when the window opens.

The short version

In 2025, Congress created a $500 million FEMA grant just for counter-drone work. It's called the Counter-UAS Grant Program.

The first $250 million went to the states hosting the 2026 World Cup.

The second $250 million is for everyone else. All 56 states and territories, including Utah.

FEMA hasn't announced the dates for that second round. But last time, the whole window was about five weeks from open to close.

Five weeks is not much time to write a plan from scratch.

What the grant pays for

This is where it gets interesting. The grant doesn't just buy hardware.

FEMA's own funding notice lists these as allowable costs:

• Risk assessments to find where drones are a threat to your sites
• Response plans and standard operating procedures
• Detection equipment like radar, RF sensors, cameras and Remote ID receivers
• Training for your officers and staff
• Tabletop exercises

The notice even includes a sample budget line for "consultant services to develop a UAS response plan."

There is no local match. An approved project can be 100% federally funded.

Who can apply

Only government agencies can receive the money. That includes:

• Police and sheriff's offices
• Emergency management
• Fire and EMS
• Corrections
• Public airport and port authorities

Agencies don't apply to FEMA directly. In Utah, applications go through the Division of Emergency Management (DEM). DEM applies to FEMA, receives the award, and passes funding down to local projects.

If you run a private stadium, utility or hospital, you can't apply yourself. But the public safety agency responsible for your site can apply for a project that protects it.

What the first round taught us

Eleven states and the National Capital Region got FY2026 money. Here's what they did with it:

• New York split $17.2 million between State Police, NYPD, the MTA and the Port Authority for "hardware and specialized training."
• Massachusetts funded Boston Police, Foxborough Police and the State Police for "training, personnel and equipment."
• Dallas added about $10 million to an existing vendor contract for detection sensors.

Notice a pattern. With only weeks to apply, most agencies bought equipment through vendors they already knew.

Nobody had time to assess first and buy second.

That's the opportunity for Utah agencies. The second round rewards projects that are planned, specific and ready to implement fast.

The law changed too

In December 2025, Congress passed the SAFER SKIES Act. For the first time, state and local law enforcement and corrections agencies can legally detect and, with the right certification, mitigate drone threats.

The rules came out in July 2026. Before an agency can run certain detection systems, it needs:

• A written policy reviewed by legal counsel
• An operations plan signed by a senior official
• Officers who have completed the FBI's free online Detection and Warning course

Those documents take time to write. The grant can pay for the planning work. But the window won't wait for you to start.

What to do now

1. Call Utah DEM. Ask to be notified when the FY2027 Counter-UAS notice is published. Ask how local projects will be submitted.

2. Get your assessment done. The application will ask about your specific threats, vulnerabilities and gaps. A finished Drone Vulnerability and Risk Assessment answers that with real data from your sites.

3. Draft your policy and operations plan. You'll need them for SAFER SKIES compliance anyway.

4. Have your officers take the free FBI course. It's online and takes about an hour.

5. Build a simple project budget. Assessment, plan, detection sensors, training, exercise. That's the shape FEMA expects.

Other grants that can help

The Counter-UAS grant isn't the only option.

• The Homeland Security Grant Program (SHSP) now lists drone detection as an approved use, as long as you develop SOPs and training before you buy.
• Byrne JAG added a counter-drone purpose area for law enforcement. The FY2026 local deadline is October 9, 2026.
• Port and Transit Security grants list drone detection as a project type.
• The Nonprofit Security Grant Program can fund drone response planning and training for houses of worship and private schools. It will not fund the assessment itself.

Where ClearPoint fits

ClearPoint Aero is a veteran-led, vendor-neutral counter-drone advisory firm based in Utah. We don't sell hardware.

We do the assessment, write the plans, design the detection approach, and train your people. Those are the exact categories the grant covers.

And because we focus on detection and planning rather than mitigation, our customers stay clear of the restrictions that complicate most applications.

If you'd like to know where your sites stand before the window opens, start with a drone risk assessment.

Request an assessment

This post is general information, not legal or grant advice. FEMA has not published FY2027 dates or final rules. Confirm current requirements with Utah DEM before committing to a project. Sources: FEMA C-UAS Grant Program notice and fact sheet, FEMA FY2026 HSGP notice, DOJ FY2026 Byrne JAG solicitation, DOJ/DHS Interim Final Rule (91 FR 41466), and state press releases from New York and Massachusetts.