The drone you notice on Redstone could be related to authorized unmanned aircraft system missions, but people who work and live on post are asked to be attentive to and report any suspicious activity.
“We have a lot of drone activity here on Redstone; some of it is authorized mission drones that actually work here on Redstone,” Brian Reinwald, chief of the Protection Division in the Garrison’s Directorate of Emergency Services, said. “Be attentive if you see something flying around” that appears suspicious.
“Redstone is a no-drone zone for other than mission-related drones, and all those are coordinated through our airfield and the DES (Directorate of Emergency Services) and the EOC (Emergency Operations Center) so that we know which authorized ones are out there.”
In his presentation at the Feb. 18 Redstone Community Update, Reinwald noted some of the indicators of suspicious UAS activity:
- Flying in observable patterns.
- Hovering around sensitive assets and locations.
- Flying outside of normal operating hours.
- Carrying observable payloads or having modifications that may indicate nefarious intent.
Reinwald said the first course of action is to contact the J-911 center at the nonemergency number at 256-313-6422. Or, “if you think the UAS is posing some type of immediate threat” to the installation or facilities, dial 911, he said.
“Try to collect as much information as you can on the drone – the size, shape, color, markings, location, flight elevation, what direction was it coming from (and) going to, what was it doing,” Reinwald said. Pass along that information to J-911 or a law enforcement officer who responds to the site.
Reinwald said that if the drone sighting is around your facility, notify your facility security office.
He recommended taking a video or photo of the UAS, if possible, to help try to identify the drone and potentially track down its operator.
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