II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 3542 

To prevent the misuse of drones, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 1, 2022 

Mr. GRASSLEY (for himself, Mr. KELLY, and Mr. CASSIDY) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on the 

Judiciary 

A BILL 

To prevent the misuse of drones, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Drone Act of 2022’’. 

5 SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 

6 Congress finds that— 

7 (1) drone technology has the potential to revo8 lutionize commerce, military operations, law enforce9 ment, and various industries, as well as recreation in 

10 general; 


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1 (2) drone technology also presents a potential 

2 danger to public safety and national security; 

3 (3) drone technology is increasingly being used 

4 by drug trafficking and human trafficking organiza5 tions at the southern border— 

6 (A) to assist in smuggling into the United 

7 States high-value items; 

8 (B) for conducting reconnaissance; and 

9 (C) even as offensive weapons against com10 peting criminal organizations; 

11 (4) drone technology has been used to deliver 

12 into Federal correctional centers contraband such as 

13 cell phones, wire cutters, screwdrivers, and hack14 saws; 

15 (5) there were 875 drone sightings in restricted 

16 airport airspace in 2020, and 766 such sightings in 

17 the first half of 2021, including 36 such sightings in 

18 the vicinities of runways; and 

19 (6) while existing Federal law includes some 

20 criminal provisions relating to misuse of drones, 

21 those provisions are fragmentary in nature and 

22 therefore fail to restrain and deter the most serious 

23 drone-related crimes. 

24 SEC. 3. DRONE OFFENSES. 

25 Part I of title 18, United States Code, is amended— 


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1 (1) in section 39B(a)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

3 (i) by striking ‘‘operation of, an air4 craft’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘oper5 ation of— 

6 ‘‘(A) an aircraft’’; 

7 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

8 and inserting a semicolon; and 

9 (iii) by adding at the end the fol10 lowing: 

11 ‘‘(B) a vessel of the United States, or a 

12 vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United 

13 States, as those terms are defined in section 

14 70502 of title 46, carrying 1 or more occu15 pants, in a manner that poses an imminent 

16 safety hazard to such occupants, shall be pun17 ished as provided in subsection (c); 

18 ‘‘(C) a motor vehicle that is used, oper19 ated, or employed in interstate or foreign com20 merce and is carrying 1 or more occupants, in 

21 a manner that poses an imminent safety hazard 

22 to such occupants, shall be punished as pro23 vided in subsection (c); or 

24 ‘‘(D) a vehicle used or designed for flight 

25 or navigation in space described in section 7(6), 


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1 shall be punished as provided in subsection 

2 (c).’’; and 

3 (B) in paragraph (2)— 

4 (i) by striking ‘‘operation of, an air5 craft’’ and inserting the following: ‘‘oper6 ation of— 

7 ‘‘(A) an aircraft’’; 

8 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

9 and inserting a semicolon; and 

10 (iii) by adding at the end the fol11 lowing: 

12 ‘‘(B) a vessel of the United States, or a 

13 vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United 

14 States, as those terms are defined in section 

15 70502 of title 46, carrying 1 or more occu16 pants, in a manner that poses an imminent 

17 safety hazard to such occupants, shall be pun18 ished as provided in subsection (c); 

19 ‘‘(C) a motor vehicle that is used, oper20 ated, or employed in interstate or foreign com21 merce and is carrying 1 or more occupants, in 

22 a manner that poses an imminent safety hazard 

23 to such occupants, shall be punished as pro24 vided in subsection (c); or 


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1 ‘‘(D) a vehicle used or designed for flight 

2 or navigation in space described in section 7(6), 

3 shall be punished as provided in subsection 

4 (c).’’; 

5 (2) in section 40A— 

6 (A) in the heading, by striking ‘‘Oper7 ation of unauthorized unmanned air8 craft over wildfires’’ and inserting ‘‘In9 terference by unauthorized un10 manned aircraft with law enforce11 ment, emergency response, and mili12 tary activities’’; and 

13 (B) in subsection (a)— 

14 (i) by striking ‘‘operates an unmanned 

15 aircraft and knowingly or recklessly’’ and 

16 inserting the following: ‘‘operates an un17 manned aircraft and— 

18 ‘‘(1) knowingly or recklessly’’; 

19 (ii) by striking the period at the end 

20 and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

21 (iii) by adding at the end the fol22 lowing: 

23 ‘‘(2) knowingly or recklessly interferes with a 

24 law enforcement, emergency response, or military 

25 operation or activity of a unit or agency of the 


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1 United States Government or of a State, tribal, or 

2 local government (other than a wildfire suppression 

3 or law enforcement or emergency response efforts re4 lated to a wildfire suppression) shall be fined under 

5 this title, imprisoned for not more than 2 years, or 

6 both.’’; 

7 (3) by inserting after section 40A the following: 

8 ‘‘§ 40B. Misuse of unmanned aircraft 

9 ‘‘(a) DEFINITIONS.—In this section— 

10 ‘‘(1) the term ‘aircraft’, notwithstanding section 

11 31(a)(1), means any device, craft, vehicle, or contriv12 ance that is— 

13 ‘‘(A) invented, used, or designed to navi14 gate, fly, or travel in the air; or 

15 ‘‘(B) used or intended to be used for flight 

16 in the air; 

17 ‘‘(2) the term ‘airport’ has the meaning given 

18 the term in section 40102(a)(9) of title 49; 

19 ‘‘(3) the term ‘contraband’ has the meaning 

20 given the term in section 80302(a) of title 49; 

21 ‘‘(4) the term ‘dangerous weapon’ has the 

22 meaning given the term in section 930; 

23 ‘‘(5) the term ‘explosive’ means any thing with24 in the scope of the definition of ‘explosive materials’ 

25 in section 841; 


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1 ‘‘(6) the term ‘firearm’ has the meaning given 

2 the term in section 921; 

3 ‘‘(7) the term ‘Federal law’ includes any form 

4 of Federal law, including any Federal statute, rule, 

5 regulation, or order; 

6 ‘‘(8) the term ‘personnel of the United States’ 

7 means any Federal officer, employee, or contractor, 

8 or any person assisting such an officer, employee, or 

9 contractor in the performance of duties; 

10 ‘‘(9) the terms ‘prison’ and ‘prohibited object’ 

11 have the meanings given those terms in section 

12 1791; 

13 ‘‘(10) the term ‘restricted electromagnetic 

14 weapon’ means any type of device, instrument, tech15 nology, or contrivance that— 

16 ‘‘(A) can generate or emit electromagnetic 

17 radiation or fields that are capable of jamming, 

18 disrupting, degrading, damaging, or interfering 

19 with the operation of any technological or elec20 tronic asset, system, network, or infrastructure, 

21 or any component or subcomponent thereof; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(B) is classified as a restricted electro24 magnetic weapon by the Attorney General, in 

25 consultation with the Secretary of Defense; 


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1 ‘‘(11) the term ‘serious bodily injury’ has the 

2 meaning given the term in section 1365; 

3 ‘‘(12) the term ‘United States corporation or 

4 legal entity’ means any corporation or other entity 

5 organized under the laws of the United States or 

6 any State; 

7 ‘‘(13) the term ‘unmanned aircraft’ has the 

8 meaning given the term in section 44801 of title 49; 

9 ‘‘(14) the term ‘vessel’ means any craft or con10 trivance used, capable of being used, or designed to 

11 be used for transportation in, on, or through water; 

12 and 

13 ‘‘(15) the term ‘weapon of mass destruction’ 

14 has the meaning given the term in section 2332a. 

15 ‘‘(b) OFFENSES.— 

16 ‘‘(1) WEAPONIZATION.—It shall be unlawful, in 

17 a circumstance described in subsection (c), to know18 ingly— 

19 ‘‘(A) equip or arm an unmanned aircraft 

20 with a firearm, explosive, dangerous weapon, re21 stricted electromagnetic weapon, or weapon of 

22 mass destruction; 

23 ‘‘(B) possess, receive, transfer, operate, or 

24 produce an unmanned aircraft that is equipped 

25 or armed with a firearm, explosive, dangerous 


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1 weapon, restricted electromagnetic weapon, or 

2 weapon of mass destruction; 

3 ‘‘(C) discharge or deploy a firearm, explo4 sive, dangerous weapon, restricted electro5 magnetic weapon, or weapon of mass destruc6 tion using an unmanned aircraft; or 

7 ‘‘(D) use an unmanned aircraft to cause— 

8 ‘‘(i) serious bodily injury or death to 

9 a person; or 

10 ‘‘(ii) damage to property in an 

11 amount that exceeds $5,000. 

12 ‘‘(2) OPERATION OF DRONE TO COMMIT FEL13 ONY.—It shall be unlawful to knowingly operate an 

14 unmanned aircraft in furtherance of the commission 

15 of a crime punishable by death or imprisonment of 

16 more than 1 year under a law of the United States 

17 or a State, if Federal law requires that the aircraft 

18 be registered and the aircraft is not registered. 

19 ‘‘(3) IMPAIRMENT OF IDENTIFICATION OR

20 LIGHTING.—It shall be unlawful to, in violation of 

21 Federal law, knowingly and willfully— 

22 ‘‘(A) remove, obliterate, tamper with, or 

23 alter the identification number of the unmanned 

24 aircraft; 


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1 ‘‘(B) disable or fail to effect any required 

2 identification transmission or signaling of the 

3 unmanned aircraft; or 

4 ‘‘(C) disable or obscure any required anti5 collision lighting of the unmanned aircraft or 

6 fail to have or illuminate such lighting as re7 quired. 

8 ‘‘(4) INTRUSION ON PROTECTED SPACES.—It 

9 shall be unlawful for any person, knowing that the 

10 conduct of the person is unlawful, to— 

11 ‘‘(A) operate an unmanned aircraft in any 

12 airspace, or cause the takeoff or landing of an 

13 unmanned aircraft in any place, in violation of 

14 Federal law, including all applicable rules, regu15 lations, and orders of the Federal Aviation Ad16 ministration and the Department of Homeland 

17 Security; or 

18 ‘‘(B) operate an unmanned aircraft across 

19 a border of the United States or its territories 

20 or possessions without complying with the re21 quirements of Federal law, including all appli22 cable rules, regulations, and orders of the Fed23 eral Aviation Administration and the Depart24 ment of Homeland Security. 


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1 ‘‘(5) TRANSPORTATION OF CONTRABAND.—It 

2 shall be unlawful to knowingly use an unmanned air3 craft to— 

4 ‘‘(A) transport contraband; or 

5 ‘‘(B) introduce a prohibited object into a 

6 prison. 

7 ‘‘(c) CIRCUMSTANCES.—The circumstances described 

8 in this subsection are that the offense— 

9 ‘‘(1) is an offense under paragraph (2), (3), 

10 (4), or (5) of subsection (b); 

11 ‘‘(2) involves an unmanned aircraft, firearm, 

12 explosive, dangerous weapon, restricted electro13 magnetic weapon, weapon of mass destruction, or 

14 ammunition that has moved at any time in inter15 state or foreign commerce; 

16 ‘‘(3) occurs in or affects interstate or foreign 

17 commerce; 

18 ‘‘(4) involves the movement of any person or 

19 thing in, or use of any means or instrumentality of, 

20 interstate or foreign commerce; 

21 ‘‘(5) involves— 

22 ‘‘(A) any use of the electromagnetic spec23 trum that is subject to the jurisdiction of the 

24 Federal Communications Commission or the 


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1 National Telecommunications and Information 

2 Administration; or 

3 ‘‘(B) any aircraft or airspace use that is 

4 subject to the jurisdiction of the Federal Avia5 tion Administration; 

6 ‘‘(6) is committed, whether within or outside of 

7 the United States, against— 

8 ‘‘(A) the United States or any department, 

9 agency, property, activity, or personnel of the 

10 United States; or 

11 ‘‘(B) an aircraft in the special aircraft ju12 risdiction of the United States (as defined in 

13 section 46501 of title 49); 

14 ‘‘(7) is committed outside of the United States 

15 against any United States national, United States 

16 corporation or legal entity, aircraft registered under 

17 United States law, or vessel of the United States or 

18 vessel subject to the jurisdiction of the United States 

19 (as those terms are defined in section 70502 of title 

20 46); or 

21 ‘‘(8) is committed in the special maritime and 

22 territorial jurisdiction of the United States. 

23 ‘‘(d) PENALTIES.—Any person who violates sub24 section (b)— 


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1 ‘‘(1) in the case of a violation of paragraph (2), 

2 (3), or (4) of that subsection, shall be imprisoned for 

3 not more than 5 years, fined under this title, or 

4 both; 

5 ‘‘(2) in the case of a violation of paragraph 

6 (1)(A), (1)(B), (1)(C), or (5) of that subsection, 

7 shall be imprisoned for not more than 10 years, 

8 fined under this title, or both; 

9 ‘‘(3) subject to paragraph (4) of this sub10 section, in the case of a violation of paragraph 

11 (1)(D) of that subsection, shall be imprisoned for 

12 not more than 20 years, fined under this title, or 

13 both; and 

14 ‘‘(4) in the case of a violation of any paragraph 

15 of that subsection, if death results, shall be sen16 tenced to death or imprisoned for any term of years 

17 or for life, fined under this title, or both. 

18 ‘‘(e) INCHOATE OFFENSES.— 

19 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Whoever threatens, at20 tempts, or conspires to commit an offense under 

21 subsection (b) shall be subject to the same punish22 ment under subsection (d) as for a completed of23 fense. 

24 ‘‘(2) FEDERAL JURISDICTION.—In the case of a 

25 threat, attempt, or conspiracy to commit an offense 


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1 under subsection (b), the requirement that a cir2 cumstance described in subsection (c) exists shall be 

3 satisfied if any of the circumstances described in 

4 that subsection would have existed had the offense 

5 been carried out. 

6 ‘‘(f) EXCEPTIONS.— 

7 ‘‘(1) GOVERNMENT-AUTHORIZED CONDUCT.— 

8 Subsection (b) shall not apply to conduct by or 

9 under the authority of, authorized by, or pursuant to 

10 a contract with, the United States or a State, Trib11 al, or local government, or any department or agen12 cy of the United States or a State, Tribal, or local 

13 government. 

14 ‘‘(2) WEAPONIZATION FOR AUTHORIZED OR LI15 CENSED ACTIVITIES.—Subsection (b)(1), as that 

16 subsection applies to firearms, explosives, and other 

17 dangerous weapons, shall not apply to— 

18 ‘‘(A) conduct related to avalanche mitiga19 tion; or 

20 ‘‘(B) any other conduct in which the use of 

21 the firearm, explosive, or dangerous weapon is 

22 licensed or otherwise permitted for the mitiga23 tion of dangers associated with hazardous envi24 ronments. 


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1 ‘‘(3) AUTHORIZED PROPERTY DAMAGE.—Sub2 section (b)(1)(D) shall not apply to conduct con3 sisting of injury to property, if engaged in by or with 

4 the authorization or consent of the owner of the 

5 property, including in any consensual competition in 

6 which unmanned aircraft are deployed against each 

7 other.’’; 

8 (4) in the chapter analysis for chapter 2, by 

9 striking the item relating to section 40A and insert10 ing the following: 

‘‘40A. Interference by unauthorized unmanned aircraft with law enforcement, 

emergency response, and military activities. 

‘‘40B. Misuse of unmanned aircraft.’’; 

11 (5) in section 982(a)(6)(A), by inserting ‘‘39B 

12 (relating to unsafe operation of unmanned aircraft), 

13 40A (relating to interference by unauthorized un14 manned aircraft with law enforcement, emergency 

15 response, and military activities), 40B (relating to 

16 misuse of unmanned aircraft),’’ before ‘‘555’’; 

17 (6) in section 2332b(g)(5)(B), by inserting 

18 ‘‘40B(b)(1) (relating to weaponization of unmanned 

19 aircraft),’’ before ‘‘81’’; and 

20 (7) in section 2516(1)(c), by inserting ‘‘section 

21 39B (relating to unsafe operation of unmanned air22 craft), section 40A (relating to interference by unau23 thorized unmanned aircraft with law enforcement, 

24 emergency response, and military activities), section 


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1 40B (relating to misuse of unmanned aircraft),’’ be2 fore ‘‘section 43’’. 

Æ 


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