On Nov. 25, 2025, Jen Daskal, Davis Hake and Timothy McGiff were featured in Autonomy Global showcasing a recent drone threat crisis planning exercise. Below is an excerpt.
When drone threats meet crisis planning, the result looks less like science fiction and more like tomorrow’s headlines. That reality came into focus during a recent counter-uncrewed aircraft systems (C-UAS) tabletop (TTX) exercise co-hosted by GrandSKY and the Venable Law Firm. This immersive homeland security simulation explored how quickly chaos can unfold when drones disrupt a quiet American city…and more importantly, what we all need to do to stay one step ahead of this threat.
A Simulated Crisis with Real Stakes
The TTX took place at The HIVE, a Grand Forks technology accelerator dedicated to bolstering the region’s uncrewed aircraft systems industry. Set in a fictional North Dakota city, the exercise unfolded around a fast-moving scenario. A coordinated drone attack targeted the airbase, a public campus, and nearby infrastructure. Within minutes, communications faltered, misinformation spread and local responders were forced to confront layered crises, ranging from power disruption to airborne threats, all under the glare of social media scrutiny.
What separated this event from a typical TTX was how the Venable team grounded the scenario in both geography and capability. The region, home to the Grand Forks Air Force Base, GrandSKY’s unique uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) test facility and North Dakota’s VANTIS beyond visual line of sight (BVLOS) network, is already central to the nation’s UAS ecosystem. That backdrop brought a true sense of realism and urgency to the simulated event. Participants, mostly from the local area, weren’t just theorizing. They were testing the seams between technology, law and real-world authorities in their own backyard.
Policy Meets Practice
Venable’s participation in the TTX added an essential policy-legal dimension to the collaboration by bridging the operational realities of homeland responders with the intricacies of federal law and liability. It also elevated the discussion beyond compliance into strategy: how to align public safety laws, federal authorities and private innovation to protect shared airspace from evolving threats. Throughout the exercise, participants from government, academia, industry and defense confronted hard policy questions, such as:
- Who has the legal authority to act in response to a a drone attack?
- Which agencies can engage in mitigation measures such as jamming or interdiction?
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