§ 124.2 — Definitions.

§ 124.2 Definitions.

As used in this part:

Agency accreditation means an agency's eligibility to exercise authority under this part, established when the agency has adopted the implementation policy and completed the portal attestation required by § 124.6(d), deploys only systems within categories on the Authorized Technologies List and, where populated, on the Authorized Systems List, and ensures that its personnel hold the certifications required for the authorities exercised.

Agency Approving Official means the senior official designated by an SLTT law enforcement or correctional agency in its implementation policy under § 124.6(a)(1), or in its detection and warning policy under § 124.6(g), authorized to approve C-UAS operations on behalf of the agency. The Agency Approving Official must not be below the rank of a Senior Executive or Senior Official or its equivalent, except that for an agency in which no equivalent rank exists, the agency head or the agency head's designee may serve as Agency Approving Official. The Agency Approving Official may not serve as a mitigation operator for an operation that official has approved.

Authorized Systems List means the subset of the Authorized Technologies List that identifies specific systems—including make, model, and hardware version—that have been authorized for operational use within one or more technology categories on the Authorized Technologies List. The Authorized Systems List is populated on a phased basis. As systems complete interagency assessment, systems may be added to the Authorized Systems List with appropriate operational limitations based on the approved capabilities, functions, and hardware version of the system.

Authorized Technologies List means the list of authorized technology categories for C-UAS operations by SLTT law enforcement and correctional agencies, maintained jointly by the Department of Justice, the Department of Homeland Security, the Department of Defense, the Department of Transportation and Federal Aviation Administration, the Federal Communications Commission, and the National Telecommunications and Information Administration, consistent with 6 U.S.C. 124n(d)(2)(A)(iii) and section 8606(a)(4) of the SAFER SKIES Act.

Control communications means any wire, oral, or electronic communication used to navigate, command, or otherwise control a UAS or unmanned aircraft, including telemetry transmitted from the aircraft to its operator, command-and-control signals transmitted from the operator to the aircraft, and any video, audio, or other data stream used by the operator to navigate the aircraft when other navigation telemetry is unavailable or insufficient. The operational role of a communication, rather than its packet type or transmission frequency, determines whether it is a control communication. Whether a communication is a control communication is determined when captured material is processed under § 124.14 and does not require an operator to determine in real time whether a particular video, audio, or data stream is being used to navigate the aircraft. Control communications also include a UAS unique identifier (such as a manufacturer device identifier or serial-correlated number), the operator or take-off location of the UAS, and the location, velocity, and emergency status of the UAS when that information is acquired by intercepting a communication from an unmanned aircraft or unmanned aircraft system pursuant to the relief provided by 6 U.S.C. 124n. The same information is not a control communication when it is obtainable without that relief.

Correctional agency has the meaning given in section 8606(c)(2) of the SAFER SKIES Act.

Correctional facility has the meaning given in 6 U.S.C. 124n(l)(9).

Credible threat means a threat that, based on the totality of circumstances known to the operator at the time of the determination, would cause a reasonable person in the operator's position, considering the operator's training and experience, to conclude that a UAS or unmanned aircraft poses an articulable risk to the safety or security of people, a facility, or an asset; a venue or set of venues used for large-scale public gatherings or events; critical infrastructure; or a correctional facility.

(1) A credible threat may be based on, but is not limited to:

(i) Specific intelligence, including information from law enforcement databases, threat assessments, or intelligence community products;

(ii) Behavioral indicators, including operation in airspace in which UAS operations have been restricted or prohibited by the Federal Aviation Administration, operation not in compliance with Federal Aviation Administration's flight requirements, approach toward a protected interest, failure to respond to warnings, or evasive maneuvering inconsistent with normal flight operations;

(iii) Payload or physical configuration indicators, including observed attachments, modifications, or configurations inconsistent with ordinary recreational or commercial UAS use that suggest capability to cause harm or to deliver prohibited items;

(iv) Unauthorized surveillance or reconnaissance of a protected interest that by law is protected from such activities, or interference with the operational mission of a protected interest;

(v) Indications that the UAS is being used to gain unauthorized access to, or to disclose, classified, law enforcement sensitive, or otherwise lawfully protected information; or

(vi) Pattern-based indicators, including repeated unauthorized UAS activity at a specific location (such as repeat incursions of national defense airspace in violation of 49 U.S.C. 46307), which may inform but do not independently satisfy the credible threat standard.

(2) A credible threat determination rests on the totality of the circumstances. A single indicator may establish a credible threat where it is sufficiently probative. For mitigation actions under 6 U.S.C. 124n(b)(1)(C), (D), and (F), the determination must be supported by a contemporaneous indicator that the specific unmanned aircraft system or unmanned aircraft at issue poses a current, articulable risk if unabated. For detection and warning actions under 6 U.S.C. 124n(b)(1)(A) and (B), a credible threat determination may also be supported by a reasonable basis to anticipate that one or more unmanned aircraft systems or unmanned aircraft poses an articulable risk. Activity protected by the First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States may not be considered in making a credible threat determination.

Critical infrastructure has the meaning given in subsection (e) of the Critical Infrastructures Protection Act of 2001 (Pub. L. 107-56, sec. 1016, 115 Stat. 272, 400-02 (codified at 42 U.S.C. 5195c)), as referenced in 6 U.S.C. 124n(l)(10).

Data purge verification means documented confirmation that records subject to purge have been deleted from all systems on which they were stored. Verification may be performed through an automated system, supervisory review, or other documented confirmation process, and must be recorded in the audit trail required by § 124.14.

Designated Federal C-UAS coordination portal means the electronic submission system designated by the Attorney General and Secretary of Homeland Security for advance notifications, notices of intent, C-UAS Operations Plans, mitigation notifications, post-operation reports, and other submissions required by this part.

Detection and Warning Certification means certification that personnel have successfully completed the online detection and warning training curriculum developed and maintained through the National Counter-UAS Training Center (NCUTC) and passed the post-course assessment. A Detection and Warning Certification authorizes the holder to exercise the authorities described in 6 U.S.C. 124n(b)(1)(A), (B), and (E). The certification is issued automatically through the NCUTC training portal upon successful completion of the curriculum and assessment and recorded in the NCUTC certification database.

Detection and warning operations means operations conducted using systems the operation of which requires the authority of, or relief from certain laws under, 6 U.S.C. 124n and involve only the actions described in 6 U.S.C. 124n(b)(1)(A) and (B). Detection and warning activity conducted using systems that do not require the authority of 6 U.S.C. 124n (including, for example, electro-optical, infrared, acoustic sensors, and radar) is not subject to this part. Operation of RF-emitting C-UAS systems remains subject to applicable Federal Communications Commission authorization requirements and Federal Aviation Administration coordination if such emission could impact the National Airspace System or other systems located at or near airports.

Detection system means a system or technology used to take an action described in 6 U.S.C. 124n(b)(1)(A) or (B)—that is, to detect, identify, monitor, or track a UAS or unmanned aircraft, or to warn its operator, and that has no capability enabled to disrupt or seize control of, or disable, damage, or destroy a UAS or unmanned aircraft.

FAA-designated coordination mechanism means the program, office, or process designated by the Administrator of the Federal Aviation Administration for the coordination of C-UAS operations that might affect aviation safety, civilian aviation and aerospace operations, aircraft airworthiness, or the use of the airspace.

Hazardous Devices School means the schoolhouse operated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation at which public safety bomb technicians are certified and recertified in accordance with the National Guidelines for Bomb Technicians, or any successor publication.

Mitigation action means an action described in 6 U.S.C. 124n(b)(1)(C), (D), or (F). Detection and warning, described in 6 U.S.C. 124n(b)(1)(A) and (B), are not mitigation actions.

Mitigation Certification means certification issued by the National Counter-UAS Training Center upon successful completion of the NCUTC mitigation training course or a successor course approved by the Attorney General acting through the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, authorizing the holder to exercise the authorities described in 6 U.S.C. 124n(b)(1)(C), (D), and (F), to the extent consistent with this part and applicable laws, using authorized technologies within the mitigation technology categories covered by the approved mitigation courses the holder has completed. A current Detection and Warning Certification is a prerequisite for obtaining and maintaining a Mitigation Certification.

Mitigation operation means an operation in which a mitigation system is deployed for the purpose of taking an action described in 6 U.S.C. 124n(b)(1)(C), (D), or (F), including disrupting, seizing, or exercising control of, or using reasonable force, if necessary, to disable, damage, or destroy a UAS or unmanned aircraft, whether or not a mitigation action is taken during the operation. A mitigation operation may include elements of detection and warning operations.

Mitigation system means a system or technology used or capable of being employed to take an action described in 6 U.S.C. 124n(b)(1)(C), (D), or (F), including disrupting, seizing or exercising control of, or using force to disable, damage, or destroy a UAS or unmanned aircraft. A system with both detection and mitigation capability is a mitigation system while its mitigation capability is enabled.

National Counter-UAS Training Center (NCUTC) means the national schoolhouse operated by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and designated by the Attorney General, acting through the Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, as the national training center for purposes of 6 U.S.C. 124n and as the sole certifying authority for SLTT C-UAS mitigation operators under 6 U.S.C. 124n(d)(2)(A)(i).

Pattern data means a derived data product reflecting aggregated trends, frequencies, or statistical observations of UAS activity across multiple C-UAS operations that has met the anonymization standards established by the agency's implementation policy and contains no information identifying any specific aircraft, operator, or natural person.

Personnel means officers and employees with assigned duties that include the security or protection of people, facilities, or assets of SLTT law enforcement and correctional agencies, as defined in 6 U.S.C. 124n(a)(2) and (l)(6)(B). This term does not include contractors of SLTT law enforcement and correctional agencies.

Raw sensor data means unprocessed or minimally processed data generated by C-UAS detection or mitigation systems, including radio frequency signal captures, waveform recordings, radar returns, optical and infrared imagery, acoustic signatures, full sensor logs, and system telemetry. Whether a particular item of raw sensor data constitutes a control communication, and is therefore a record of communications subject to the retention limit of § 124.14, is determined by its function.

RF-emitting C-UAS system means any C-UAS system that, when employed for detection or mitigation purposes, actively transmits radio frequency energy to detect, disrupt, disable, or seize control of a UAS or unmanned aircraft. This includes systems employing technologies for detection-only purposes, such as radars that transmit radio frequency signals, that may require a radiolocation service license to be issued from the Federal Communications Commission, and mitigation systems that employ radio frequency jamming (broadband or protocol-specific disruption of command-and-control links, video downlinks, or navigation signals) and radio frequency protocol manipulation (command injection or cyber takeover of control signals).

SLTT law enforcement agency has the meaning given in section 8606(c)(1) of the SAFER SKIES Act.

Special Event Assessment Rating means a rating assigned to an event under the special event assessment process administered by the Department of Homeland Security, or the equivalent rating under any successor event rating system.