Four Must-Have Competencies for Success in Drones

Then and Now

In 2006, when the “Drones for Good” program was launched at the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI), the drone industry was in its infancy. Only a few commercial drone companies existed and most focused on military drones. DJI was founded that year, Parrot delayed its first drone until 2010, and in 2015 3D Robotics released its Solo quadcopter, which later comprised 56% of the DOI’s UAS fleet. ^[i] ^[ii] ^[iii] ^[iv] Domestic government drone programs were scarce, and commercial drone programs were in their early stages, with the FAA issuing its first commercial drone waiver that year.^[v]

Fast forward to today, the drone manufacturing and related service providers industry has grown exponentially, with over 1,000 companies now in operation. The number of government and commercial drone programs has also surged. According to the Department of Homeland Security’s (DHS) National Council of Statewide Interoperability Coordinators (NCSWIC), as of March 2020, there were at least 1,578 state and local public safety organizations that had reported purchasing drones, up from just 500 two years prior.^[vi] DRONERESPONDERS, the largest public safety drone advocacy non-profit program currently has 1,786 agency members worldwide (as of 3-17-25).^[vii]

Despite market growth, competition among commercial providers and strains on funding availability for agency and company programs have intensified, leading to some notable casualties.^[viii]

In the rapidly evolving drone industry, long-term success still depends on mastering a set of core competencies. As keynote speaker at the Commercial UAV Expo in 2016, I shared my insights based on decades of experience in developing and leading traditional aviation and public service drone programs.^[ix] Part 107 had only been enacted two months prior, and the audience was eager to learn how to succeed in this exciting yet nascent industry. I identified four essential competencies: Aviation, Privacy, Security, and Culture. These remain relevant and applicable today.

Let’s delve into each area to understand their continued relevance in the commercial drone industry.

1. Aviation

Aviation is the foundation of the commercial UAV industry. While drone technology companies may excel in their specialty areas, they must understand aviation’s unique challenges and regulations. Aviation is inherently unforgiving, and errors can be costly, especially for those who operate with “carelessness, incapacity or neglect.” ^[x] Drones operate near people and infrastructure, leaving little room for error. While the pilot’s risk is reduced, this can lead to riskier behaviors that may damage or injure other assets. Drone companies and programs must establish robust systems and processes to effectively manage safety and regulatory environments.

Key aspects of the aviation competency include:

Understanding of and Adherence to Aviation Regulations: Understanding and adhering to aviation regulations is crucial. Recognizing the significance of airspace and air traffic management rules and procedures is equally important. Unfortunately, experienced aviation professionals often express dissatisfaction with the “drone industry” due to a lack of respect for their role and responsibility as fellow citizens of the national airspace system (NAS). This lack of respect can impact aviation safety and efficiency. To achieve success in aviation, it’s essential to incorporate respect for the airspace into your company’s or organization’s culture.
Safety Management Systems: Implementing comprehensive safety management systems (SMS) that address risks and ensure safe operations is crucial. These systems should be based on the four pillars of Policy, Risk Management, Safety Assurance, and Safety Promotion. Key to sustained safety is open internal and external collaboration. This approach goes beyond treating safety as a “blood priority” following mishaps.
Training and Certification: Ensuring drone pilots, visual observers, and maintainers are well-trained and certified to operate and maintain drones safely and efficiently is part of SMS.

The Debrief: Effective debriefing is crucial for professional aviation operations. As a naval aviator, I witnessed its impact firsthand and received graduate-level training in debriefing techniques at TOPGUN and Test Pilot School. These techniques foster learning and improvement in aviation and various business areas. Key principles include:
- Psychological Safety: Creating an environment where participants feel safe to share their thoughts, admit mistakes, and provide honest feedback without fear of judgment or repercussions.
- Clear Objectives: Setting specific goals for the debrief, such as identifying lessons learned, improving team dynamics, or enhancing decision-making processes.
- Structured Approach: Following a systematic framework, such as the "What, So What, Now What" model:
  - What: Review what happened during the event or activity.
  - So What: Analyze the significance of the outcomes and decisions.
  - Now What: Identify actionable steps for improvement.
Facilitator Preparedness: A chosen facilitator guides the discussion, ensuring it remains focused, constructive, and aligned with the objectives.
Active Participation: Ensuring all team members contribute their perspectives, fostering a collaborative and inclusive discussion.
Focus on Improvement: Emphasizing learning and growth rather than assigning blame, turning mistakes into opportunities for development.
Timeliness: Conducting the debrief soon after the event to ensure details are fresh in participants' minds.
Use of Data and Evidence: Incorporating objective data, such as performance metrics or recordings, to support analysis and discussions.

2. Privacy

While manned aircraft have been used in intelligence and surveillance, drones were primarily developed for these purposes, alongside their role as weapons delivery platforms. Drones allowed pilots to avoid potentially hazardous missions. Consequently, public privacy concerns surrounding drones are more significant compared to manned aircraft. The recent public and social media frenzy over reported drone sightings in New Jersey and other states underscores the public’s anxiety about drones and privacy due to their small size, ease of use, and potential for clandestine surveillance. As a drone or component manufacturer, service provider, or program manager, it’s important to fully understand the components of privacy to effectively address them. Webster defines privacy as “the quality or state of being apart from company or observation and freedom from unauthorized intrusion.”^[xi] With respect to drones, public privacy concerns center on three specific areas:

Data – People fear drones are spying on them. Assuring them they’re not the target isn’t enough. Drone sensors often capture information outside the intended area. Transparency about this and explaining safeguards build trust.
Another concern is about the data captured by the drone platform, payload, and data processing companies. While many accept end-user license agreements without reading them, this can jeopardize your reputation. Public initiatives to control user data reflect the public’s growing concern about consent. For drone programs, it’s essential to understand and agree on data collection, usage, and protection. For instance, our “Drones for Good” program (2006) required our specific authorization for data collection by the platform, payload, or data processing component companies. Some companies didn’t comply and weren’t used, while others collaborated to develop tailored options.
Visual – Visual privacy concerns about drones aren’t just about being watched; they also involve visual intrusion. As drone delivery locations expand in the U.S. and their activities scale, this privacy concern grows. No one wants an interstate running through their front yard, or to live under a “drone delivery highway” where their outdoor activities and views are constantly disrupted by passing or hovering drones.
Auditory – Drones’ noise has become a pressing public concern, overshadowing visual intrusions. While traditional aviation focuses on noise affecting residential areas near airports, drones’ increasing presence in the lowest levels of the NAS necessitates understanding and considering noise levels, frequencies, and durations. Each of these factors can be profoundly annoying, such as blasting music in a car next to you at a stoplight, nails on a chalkboard, or your neighbor having a loud party all night long. When combined, they can compel the local community to request that you cease your drone activities. For instance, a Texas town recently acted against a tech company that has been developing drone delivery technologies since 2013.^[xii] It’s important to remember that while the FAA regulates the NAS, state and local governments have the authority to pass laws that address the potential “nuisance factor” of drone noise, which can restrict the operational areas of your product or program. Noise is often an overlooked drone product differentiator that could potentially become a customer-winning attribute for manufacturers, service providers, and user programs.

Having gained insights into the public’s concern for privacy from my military experience, I prioritized establishing privacy as a fundamental principle for the DOI’s “Drones for Good” program. From the program’s inception in 2006, we crafted policies that acknowledged and respected the public’s perception of drones, along with proactive strategies to address their concerns and build and maintain public trust in our program.

Key aspects of privacy competency include:

Proactive Communication: Engaging with the public and stakeholders to address data, visual, and auditory privacy concerns upfront to build and sustain public trust.
Data Management: Implementing thoughtful data collection, responsible data storage, and sharing practices, publicly posting a drone program privacy impact assessment (PIA).
Compliance with Privacy Laws: Staying current and compliant with privacy regulations to avoid issues that can damage your product, company, or drone program’s reputation and possibly lead to legal ramifications.

3. Security

Drones present several security vulnerabilities that manufacturers, service providers, and program managers must understand in mastering this important competency. These include:

Physical Security: Drones’ small, transportable nature makes them vulnerable to theft. In 2006, concerns were raised about unauthorized personal use, potentially causing reputational damage. Given the widespread use of small drones in Ukraine and their potential as lethal weapons, manufacturers, service providers, and program managers must enhance physical security and inventory control. Private aircraft often have control locks to prevent unauthorized use. Implementing similar disabling technology for small drones may become necessary.
Cybersecurity: Drones’ remote piloting or autonomous nature amplifies cybersecurity vulnerabilities. Let’s examine each aspect in more detail.
- Data: Data security involves handling, processing, distributing, and archiving drone data, not just transmission and storage. Given the daily generation of drone data, ensuring end-to-end security can be overwhelming for small programs. Fortunately, free government resources like Cybersecurity Best Practices for Operation Commercial Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) and Protecting Against the Threat of Unmanned Aircraft Systems, authored by the DHS Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) can assist.
- Navigation: Malicious actors can cause reputational damage to drone manufacturers, service providers, and program managers without stealing data. GPS jamming, blocking, and spoofing techniques can alter a drone’s location perception, potentially leading it to unsafe areas and brand image damage.
Control: Malicious entities can cause reputational harm by taking control of your drone. They can fly it into prohibited areas, crash it, steal it, or use it as a weapon. Loss of control can also occur due to unfamiliarity with the control link system or electromagnetic environment. Adding an electromagnetically incompatible payload or flying in areas with strong interference can result in similar issues. Losing control of where your sensor payload points or when it delivers its cargo, either by harmful agents through inattention to electromagnetic compatibility or interference issues can also result in a loss of credibility and business.
Payload: While data security concerns have focused on transmission and storage, ensuring that data streaming from the payload can’t be easily intercepted and used without permission is equally important. Failing to secure this link can be as detrimental as not securing the data throughout the process.
Complacency: In aviation, we have a saying that “complacency kills.” This principle can also be equally harmful when it comes to security. Drones should have physical inventory and access management processes like those used for potentially dangerous items that could be used to cause intentional harm. Similarly, when it comes to drone cybersecurity, no one should be granted a “free pass.” Operators should undergo rigorous training and vetting. Drones with mission-appropriate levels of security should be assessed against recognized cybersecurity standards, rather than solely based on their country of origin. Israel’s highly successful use of this approach against one of their adversaries in 2024 serves as a stark lesson; their adversary mistakenly believed they were purchasing “safe” products from a “trusted” vendor in a “friendly” country.^[xiii]
Developing and Exercising Incident Response Plans: Developing and regularly updating incident response plans to address potential security threats. Resources to support these are available through the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) and DHS CISA.^[xiv] ^[xv]

4. Culture

The final competency, culture, is often overlooked but is crucial for long-term success. A strong organizational culture that prioritizes safety, innovation, and continuous improvement can drive a company’s success in the drone industry. Although it’s been nearly two decades since we launched the DOI “Drones for Good” program, this industry is still in its infancy. Throughout my nearly 45-years in aviation and my 37-year association with drones, I’ve consistently achieved great success by fostering a culture of collaboration and learning, which proved essential for staying relevant in this highly competitive field. Just as character is always on display, culture is what your employees, partners, customers, and the public see and experience, and it shapes your reputation. Remember, personal, company, and organizational reputations are built over years, destroyed in seconds, and often take much longer to restore than to establish in the first place.

Key aspects of culture competency include:

Safety Culture: Promoting a culture where safety is a top priority, and everyone is committed to safe operations.
Innovation and Continuous Improvement: Encouraging innovation and continuous improvement to stay ahead of industry trends and challenges.
Continuous Improvement: Establishing, practicing, and auditing formal processes that ensure your product, service, or program can learn about and address privacy concerns before you receive a cease and desist order from the public and/or the elected officials who serve and represent their interests and concerns.
Collaboration: Fostering a collaborative environment where team members work together to achieve common goals. As a still nascent industry, like boats on the tide, the whole drone industry rises and falls with our collective successes and missteps. Learn from others and organizations like DRONERESPONDERS that are dedicated to paying it forward in supporting the continuing progress and success of the drone ecosystem.

5. Demonstrated Measurable Results

One of the first lessons I learned as a budding engineer, later reinforced in test pilot school, and during my pursuit of my MBA was that “if you can’t measure it, it didn’t happen.” I also learned that if you can’t answer the “so what” question, then you wasted valuable time and resources. The 95-page May 30, 2021 Review of the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) Unmanned Aircraft (UAS) Program summarizes outcome metrics of DOI’s “Drones for Good” program from applying the four must-have competencies from the program’s inception in 2006.^[xvi] Here’s a relevant reference from page 42 of that report:

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Thanks to the strong culture the program has continued to experience success.

6. Conclusion:

The drone industry offers significant societal benefits (e.g. higher agriculture yields, safer and more effective infrastructure inspections, enhanced public safety response, improvements in scientific research, etc.). It also presents exciting new avenues of economic growth and technology development. This industry’s trajectory depends on the ability of each drone business and program to master the competencies of drone aviation, privacy, security, and organizational culture our customers, the public, and regulators will demand. Are you ready?