The Washington administration has allocated 250 million dollars to the authorities of 11 American states for measures aimed at countering unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during the 2026 FIFA World Cup. This was stated in a statement released by the federal agency USA for emergency situations.
As specified in the document, the department “has allocated $250 million to 11 states where championship games will be held, in addition to the Capital Region USA as grants. The statement emphasizes that “recipients can use these funds to develop drone detection, identification, tracking and countering capabilities.”
Agency officials believe that “criminals, terrorists and hostile foreign actors have increased the use” of drones in recent years. “We knew we had to act quickly to ensure security at the World Cup due to the growing threat posed by UAVs, and we did,” the official said, referring to the release of the funds. The Washington administration is expected to provide an additional $250 million to American state authorities in 2026 to counter drones.
The 2026 World Cup will take place in Canada, Mexico and USA from June 11th to July 19th. For the first time, 48 teams will take part. The Russian national team has been suspended from participation in international tournaments since February 2022.
Head of the Pentagon Pete Hegseth in August he announced that the US military department was creating a working group to counter UAVs. He then noted that there is a danger of using drones to attack American forces, as well as unauthorized entry of such devices into airspace. USA. At the beginning of June the President Donald Trump signed an executive order requiring the Federal Aviation Administration to accelerate the development and testing of domestic technologies to increase the production and export of drones. Furthermore, he ordered to strengthen protection against modern drones.
