If a D.C. resident sees or hears a drone flying overhead the next two nights, it could be part of an exercise for federal, state and local public safety agencies.
The three-day exercise started Tuesday and will continue between midnight and 4 a.m. on Wednesday and Thursday, with Friday reserved as a contingency day, according to a statement released Monday by the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments.
The council said the exercise is not a response to a specific threat and is being done to test technology that detects and tracks drones.
“The exercise tests the effectiveness of an expanded sensor network under realistic flight conditions, assesses information sharing and interagency coordination and identifies operational improvements,” the statement said.
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Public safety officials will also test data flows from sensors into command platforms and mapping software, the statement said, offering partners across the region a “single, real-time view of the airspace” to support “rapid, coordinated decisions.”
The statement said the council collaborated with the District of Columbia Homeland Security and Emergency Management Agency and other participants for several months to plan the exercise.
The testing comes after the Federal Emergency Management Agency awarded roughly $28.5 million last year to expand drone testing capabilities in the capital region.
The Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments did not respond to a request from The Washington Sun about which local and state public safety agencies are involved in the testing and where the exercise will take place.
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