Capitol Commission Looking Into Monitoring Systems For Drones Near Capitol

(Source: MIRS.news, Published 10/06/2025) The Capitol Commission is meeting with Airspace Link, Inc., a company that helps local governments or clients regulate and monitor drone usage.

It's a Michigan-based company that created a software system for drone flight tracking with drone flight paths and the pilots' location. Their clients include Ford Field, Comerica Park, Detroit Metro Airport, and they monitor Michigan State University and University of Michigan's football stadiums, said Rob Blackshaw, executive director of the Capitol Commission.

Blackshaw said in the meeting this morning that this tool seems very valuable for the future of monitoring the Capitol's airspace. Since airspace can't be regulated or enforced at the state level, the state or Capitol Commission can't do much to keep drones away from state buildings, but monitoring software is the first step, Blackshaw said.

If federal policy changed to allow state law enforcement to regulate and enforce its state's airspace and allow state Legislatures to enact policy, then Blackshaw said the Capitol should become critical infrastructure, which would open up the possibility for geo-fences to be staked out that prevent drones from flying through the designated airspace.

Blackshaw said there is an upcoming meeting between himself, Chair William KANDLER and Airspace Link, Inc.

Blackshaw expressed concern over how fast the drone industry is growing.

"As we continue to build our security plan in the Capitol building, we started to do a deep dive into drones. There's been a lot of talk about drones lately. We've all seen and heard about drones we use in our country and around the world. The problem is that the use of drones and technology is moving at a very rapid pace," Blackshaw said.

The rapid pace at which the drone industry is developing and changing is making it harder for lawmakers to create policies related to security, safety and regulation.

Blackshaw said a few questions need to be answered: if retail delivery services begin using drones to deliver packages, where will these packages be delivered? Is there a safe zone to land to drop a package? Are drones allowed in the Capitol’s airspace without their permission? For drones used during a rally or event, are those drone pilots licensed? Will they fly a drone into a person if they oppose their views? Will they drop an unwanted package onto a crowd or speaker, or drop explosive or poisonous items?

"These are all questions that we really need to answer, because we all know that the threats of the use of drones for nefarious reasons are there, in addition to all the good reasons that are there. All these do need to be addressed," Blackshaw said.