00:00I now recognize Chairman Strong for five minutes.
00:05To effectively counter emerging threats,
00:08it's important to understand enemy capabilities
00:10and the technologies that are evolving in this space.
00:13Dr. Ledbetter, I know CULSA designs
00:16and produces swarming threat
00:18representative drones for the Army,
00:20but can this technology be used for other purposes?
00:24Absolutely.
00:26We've used swarming drones to create asymmetry
00:30on the battlefield that can be used
00:32in a positive manner as well for a couple of things.
00:36One, we use multiple transmission methods
00:41that creates resiliency.
00:43And when communications go down
00:46in a humanitarian assistance disaster recovery
00:50type situation, that can provide resilience
00:52in communications.
00:53So that's one aspect that can be used.
00:56The second aspect could be coverage.
01:01So with swarms, you're just gonna get more coverage
01:03instead of just one drone.
01:06You mentioned in one of the opening statements
01:10about MQ-9, it's one drone.
01:12It's a very powerful, powerful drone.
01:14However, we can provide a swarm up to 100
01:17from a single laptop.
01:18That can provide more coverage with more sensors.
01:22That can do a lot of, essentially 100 different missions.
01:25So yes, it could absolutely be repurposed.
01:27While we're on the topic of drone technology,
01:29we also hear a lot about technological advancement
01:33in drones as they relate to AI decision making.
01:37Dr. Ledbetter, what role do you see
01:39for these technologies within the DHS
01:42and first responder mission spaces?
01:45What advancements are likely on the horizon?
01:49Well, so we'll start with just AI.
01:53You know, we use that term a lot.
01:55Drone to drone communication using large language models
01:59to incorporate artificial intelligence,
02:01machine learning into the swarms helps them automate
02:06not only their flight path, but automate response.
02:09We've heard about drone in a box
02:12where you have drones pre-positioned
02:14and without anybody actually controlling the drone,
02:17you can use AI to respond to some incident
02:20or a variety of incidents,
02:23whether it be a lost person at night
02:26or whether it be an accident on the interstate.
02:29Everyone here understands the essential role
02:31that colleges, universities,
02:33and other academic institutions play
02:35in supporting the research, testing,
02:38and evaluation of new and emerging technologies.
02:41Mr. Hendricks, your program
02:43at the University of Alabama in Huntsville
02:45has advanced both government and industry use
02:48of aerospace and autonomous engineering solutions.
02:52Could you expand on the value
02:53that UAH and other academic institutions offer
02:57that differ from industry
02:59and why this is advantageous to DHS?
03:03Yes, sir, thank you for the question, Chairman Strong.
03:05We appreciate that.
03:06So part of the research that we're doing in autonomy
03:08includes looking at advanced algorithms
03:11and development relative to artificial intelligence
03:13or machine learning,
03:14looking at things that's known as leader-follower
03:16or multi-application operations.
03:19We have the ability to operate
03:21in close proximity to the university
03:22and also in the university to test out
03:25those certain kinds of paradigms.
03:27It gives us the ability to look at those algorithms
03:30and refine those developments
03:32in a more of a research standpoint
03:34so that we can come up with a solution
03:35that organizations like CULSA could develop and then produce.
03:39One of the things that we were able to recently do
03:41for the DOD side is customer brought to us
03:44very specialized requirement.
03:46I need you to build a capability to do X, Y, Z.
03:49I need you to have it built in a modular sense
03:51and can you do it in six months?
03:52And we did.
03:53We developed that and now it's ready for production.
03:55Very impressive.
03:57Given the increasing importance of UAS
03:59and rapid response scenarios,
04:01it raises an important question
04:02about how our regulations and processes
04:06are evolving to keep pace.
04:08Mr. Hendricks, in your opinion,
04:09with the increased use and capability of drones,
04:13are there any UAS regulations or processes
04:17that need to be adjusted?
04:18Yes, sir, absolutely.
04:20If you look at the counter UAS side, for example,
04:22we deal with it, and I mentioned these in the testimony,
04:25the different types of regulations that need to be adjusted
04:28to allow us to do a full set of testing
04:30in the counter UAS area,
04:31whether it also be detection or mitigation.
04:35And we're working with DHS on that,
04:38but we have been unable to,
04:39because of regulation, be able to do full testing.
04:42Again, we test and we need to be able to test as we operate.
04:45And those partnerships are very valuable.
04:47Yes, sir.
04:48In the previous administration,
04:49for every drone flown by Border Patrol,
04:53the Mexican cartel flew 17,
04:55many times entering U.S. airspace
04:58to land and offload pounds of fentanyl
05:02in an attempt to kill a generation of Americans.
05:06What is most interesting, in Huntsville, Alabama,
05:09we have the proven technology
05:11to neutralize that drone threat.
05:14We can intercept and do forensics,
05:16we can block their flight,
05:18or we can drop and destroy them.
05:21Our time is now.
05:23I thank each of you for being here today.
05:25Your information is very valuable.
05:27And again, thank you each for being here.
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