Ok cities. Nothing in economic development, to use the cliche, keeps me up at night or really makes me worry. But I do worry some about things like China invading Taiwan and grabbing control of the chip factories that power 90% of the world among other national and international headlines like drones in Ukraine/Russia and Israel/Iran.

That’s why we include ECOSINT (economic open source intelligence) as a category in our daily newsletter – take national security economic issues and look for significance at the local level in the same way we do with other economic trends and news.

So let’s start with a gut punch from a recent article from the Special Operations Association of America article (link): The skies below 500 feet in America are essentially undefended.

That’s YOUR airspace cities. Your water tower, your Fourth of July festival, that substation powering half of downtown.

And right now, most cities have about as much defense against drone threats as a screen door has against mosquitoes.

But here’s where it gets interesting – and predictably frustrating.

The Overreaction Playbook (You Know It’s Coming)

Watch for it. Some city somewhere will panic and try to ban all drones within city limits. Because nothing says “we’re prepared for sophisticated threats” like harassing Amazon delivery pilots and wedding photographers while actual bad actors laugh at your ordinances.

Here’s the problem: Between FAA rules and state preemption, cities have about as much authority over airspace as they do over the weather. But that won’t stop some council member from grandstanding with a “Drone-Free Zone” proclamation that’s worth less than the paper it’s printed on.

The Real Gap Nobody Wants to Discuss

The article nails it: Local law enforcement, often the first responders to threats, currently lack the tools, training, and protocols to effectively identify, track, and neutralize these airborne threats.

Translation? Your police chief who can’t get his officers to consistently use body cameras is now supposed to develop counter-UAS capabilities. Good luck with that.

But before we spiral into complete cynicism, let’s talk about what cities can actually do – because there IS a path forward that doesn’t involve security theater or freedom-crushing overreach.

The Smart City Response (Yes, It Exists)

1. Focus on What You Control The article mentions how Transformers that provide power to tens of thousands are prone to collapse with one well placed bullet. Start there. Hardening infrastructure isn’t sexy, but it’s within your authority and actually works. Physical barriers, redundancies, backup systems – boring stuff that actually matters.

2. Get Real About Coordination The SOAA piece highlights how the disorganization and lack of cooperation between federal, state, and local agencies severely undermine our ability to implement an effective national security policy. Some cities can’t even get their fire and police departments to share radio frequencies effectively. Start there. Build real coordination locally before pretending you can integrate with the feds.

3. Intelligence, Not Ordinances Instead of writing rules for law-abiding drone operators, develop actual intelligence capabilities. The article warns that adversaries could have easily inserted covert operatives tasked with preparing for conflict on our soil. Your Sister City program? That new international business you’re recruiting? Might be time to think about security alongside economic development.

The Economic Reality Check

Here’s what drives me crazy: Cities will spend $100,000 on a consultant (not me) to write an unenforceable drone ordinance but won’t spend $50,000 hardening the substation that powers their entire business district.

Ukraine showed us that $2,000 drones to inflict billions of dollars in damage is the new math of warfare. Your economic development strategy better account for that equation.

What’s Actually Coming

The federal government is waking up, with the Trump administration having recently signed multiple executive orders to bolster US drone and anti-drone capabilities. This is your chance to advocate for frameworks that empower cities without crushing innovation or freedom. Push for:

• Federal resources for infrastructure hardening (not just detection equipment you can’t legally use)
• Clear frameworks that define what cities CAN do, not just what they can’t
• Regional cooperation models that share expensive capabilities
• Training that turns first responders into something more useful than drone hall monitors

The Bottom Line

Yes, some cities will overreact with pointless ordinances. Yes, others will stick their heads in the sand. But the smart ones? They’ll recognize this is neither a problem they can legislate away nor one they can ignore.

The drone threat is real. The capability gap is massive. China is trying to buy property in your cities and next to your military installations. But the answer isn’t to restrict legitimate users or pretend you can defend airspace you don’t control. It’s to be honest about limitations, strategic about investments, and focused on actual resilience over security theater.

Because in the end, the cities that thrive won’t be the ones with the toughest drone ordinances. They’ll be the ones that hardened their infrastructure, built real coordination capabilities, and marketed their resilience as a competitive advantage.

Your move, cities. Just try not to do something stupid while you figure it out.