Part of the Energy Drone & Robotics Summit
June 24, 2026 · 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM
Limited Seating — Register Now
A Featured Forum Within the Energy Drone & Robotics Summit
Energy
Security /
C-UAS
Forum
Physical & Airspace Defense for Energy Infrastructure
The sky above your facility is now part of your security perimeter. State-sponsored actors, extremist groups, and opportunistic adversaries have identified energy infrastructure as a high-value, under-defended target. This half-day forum convenes the security leaders, operators, regulators, and technology innovators who are writing the new playbook — before the next incident forces your hand.
The Threat Landscape
Why This Conversation
Can't Wait
The electric grid was never designed with aerial threats in mind. Drones are inexpensive, widely available, and increasingly capable — which means your security perimeter no longer ends at the fence line. Modern UAS threats are analogous to cyber threats: low-cost, scalable, and capable of creating disproportionate damage far beyond the point of attack. The time to act is before the breach, not after.
Reconnaissance & Site Mapping
Most drone incidents near critical infrastructure currently involve surveillance — mapping facility layouts, identifying weak points in physical security, and testing response times. This intelligence feeds far more coordinated follow-on attacks, both physical and cyber.
State-Sponsored Targeting
DHS has explicitly warned U.S. energy companies about nation-state threats. Global conflicts have demonstrated that refineries and generating stations are valid military targets — a strategic calculus now being applied to the U.S. homeland by adversaries including Iran.
The Regulatory & Legal Gap
FAA airspace rules leave utilities able to observe threatening drones but unable to legally interdict them in flight. Operators are stuck watching a potential attack unfold and can only respond after the drone lands — often too late to prevent harm to personnel or critical equipment.
Program Agenda
June 24, 2026 · 9:00 AM – 1:00 PM9:00 AM
Opening Keynote / State of the Threat
The Sky Is the New Front Line: Setting the Stage for Energy Security in 2026
A hard-hitting scene-setter drawing on NERC's GridEx VIII findings, the DHS warning to U.S. energy operators, and the geopolitical realities reshaping physical and airspace security strategy for substations, refineries, pipelines, and critical generation assets.
9:35 AM
Panel Discussion
From Fence Line to Skyline: What Utilities and Operators Are Actually Doing Right Now
Asset owners from electric utilities, pipelines, and oil & gas share candid accounts of their current airspace security posture — detection capabilities deployed, gaps identified, incidents experienced, and how they are coordinating with local law enforcement under the new SAFERSKIES Act framework.
10:20 AM
Technology Deep-Dive
Why Jamming Fails and What Actually Works: The RF Cyber Mitigation Playbook
In a refinery or chemical plant, jamming creates RF noise that can disrupt industrial sensors, internal communications, and safety systems — and a drone crashing in a random spot near pressurized lines is not a solution. This session examines the move toward RF Cyber "takeover" technology that surgically seizes control of a rogue UAS and guides it to a pre-designated safe landing zone without disrupting facility operations.
11:05 AM
Networking Break
Refreshment Break & Technology Exhibition Access
Connect with C-UAS solution providers, security technology integrators, and fellow operators from across the energy sector on the EDRS exhibition floor.
11:35 AM
Regulatory & Policy Session
NERC CIP-014, SAFERSKIES, and What's Coming: The Compliance Landscape for Airspace Security
C-UAS is moving rapidly from an optional investment to a mandatory compliance requirement. This session breaks down the current regulatory framework — including the FY2026 NDAA's expanded C-UAS authorities for state and local agencies under SAFERSKIES — and what asset owners need to put in place before formal mandates arrive. Don't wait for the regulations to tell you what to do.
12:20 PM
Closing Panel + Audience Q&A
Building Layered Airspace Defense: Detection, Identification, and Mitigation in Practice
A practitioner-led panel on deploying the full three-layer C-UAS stack — RF sensor and AI-camera detection, friend-or-foe identification, and non-disruptive cyber-based mitigation — within real-world operational constraints at energy facilities. Open audience Q&A closes the session.
1:00 PM
Close
Forum Concludes — EDRS Afternoon Program Continues
Forum attendees rejoin the full Energy Drone & Robotics Summit for afternoon sessions, technology demonstrations, and networking.
Core Topics
What This Forum Covers01
Airspace Threat Intelligence
Understanding who is operating near your assets, why, and what NERC GridEx data and DHS warnings reveal about the rising threat of state-sponsored targeting of U.S. energy infrastructure.
02
Counter-UAS Technology
From radar and RF detection to AI-powered identification and RF Cyber takeover mitigation — the full technology stack assessed for industrial environments where jamming is simply not an option.
03
Regulatory Compliance
NERC CIP-014, the SAFERSKIES Act, and the FY2026 NDAA framework — what the evolving regulatory landscape means for asset owners and how to get ahead of mandatory compliance requirements.
04
Public-Private Partnerships
How energy operators are building coordination frameworks with SLTT law enforcement agencies under new federal authority to create legally defensible, rapid-response airspace protection programs.
05
Physical Security Integration
Integrating airspace monitoring with existing perimeter security, surveillance systems, and emergency response protocols to create a unified, defense-in-depth security posture across the full facility footprint.
06
Upstream & Downstream O&G
Specific considerations for refineries, petrochemical complexes, and upstream production sites where explosive atmospheres and process sensitivity demand strictly non-disruptive, non-kinetic mitigation approaches.
07
Utility & Grid Security
Protecting substations, transmission infrastructure, and generating stations — assets that are geographically dispersed, irreplaceable, and historically designed with zero consideration of aerial threats.
08
Procurement & Deployment
How to evaluate C-UAS vendors, structure public-private agreements, and deploy layered detection and mitigation systems within the budget and operational realities of energy facility security teams.
Regulatory Reality Check
C-UAS Is Becoming Mandatory.
Don't Wait for the Breach.
Asset owners who wait for regulations to arrive before building airspace security capability will be left scrambling. The FY2026 NDAA has already created new frameworks. NERC CIP-014 updates are accelerating. DHS is actively warning operators. The question is no longer whether to act — it's whether you act on your terms, or the regulator's.
SAFERSKIES Act (FY2026 NDAA) — New authority for state and local law enforcement to detect, track, and mitigate credible drone threats near designated critical infrastructure sites
NERC CIP-014 Evolution — Growing industry push to update physical security standards to explicitly include airspace defense as a required protective measure for high-impact facilities
Active DHS Warnings — The Department of Homeland Security has directly urged U.S. energy companies to increase security in response to confirmed threats from nation-state actors
NERC GridEx VIII Findings — Industry stress-test participants called for consolidated federal guidance and new government support, confirming the current regulatory framework is insufficient
Who Should Attend
This forum is purpose-built for the security decision-makers, operations leaders, and technology evaluators responsible for protecting energy infrastructure — and who need actionable intelligence, peer experience, and regulatory clarity, not theory.
You belong in this room if you are a…
- Physical Security Director or Manager at a utility, pipeline, or O&G company
- Chief Security Officer or VP of Security for an energy asset owner/operator
- Operations or Facility Manager responsible for site safety and access control
- Compliance Officer managing NERC CIP or physical security standards
- Emergency Response or Crisis Management Leader
- Government Relations professional tracking C-UAS and infrastructure policy
- Technology Evaluator or Procurement Lead for physical security systems
- Law Enforcement or Homeland Security official with energy sector responsibilities
01
Peer Intelligence
Hear directly from asset owners and operators who are actively deploying — or evaluating — C-UAS systems at real facilities, not consultants theorizing from the sidelines.
02
Regulatory Clarity
Leave with a clear-eyed picture of the NERC CIP, SAFERSKIES, and FY2026 NDAA landscape — and a concrete sense of what compliance will require before the mandates arrive.
03
Technology Evaluation
Cut through vendor noise with expert-led sessions on what detection and mitigation technologies actually work in industrial environments — and which approaches create new risks.
04
Actionable Frameworks
Walk away with a layered-defense framework and a clear roadmap for building public-private coordination agreements with law enforcement under the new federal authorities.
05
Full EDRS Access
Forum registration includes full access to the Energy Drone & Robotics Summit — the industry's premier event for drone and robotics technology across the energy sector.
06
Senior Networking
Connect with the security leaders, technology providers, regulators, and law enforcement officials who are collectively shaping the future of energy infrastructure protection.
Secure Your Seat
Register for the Forum
Join security leaders, operators, regulators, and technology innovators for the energy sector's first dedicated forum on physical and airspace security. Seating is limited — reserve your place today.
Tuesday, June 24, 2026
9:00 AM – 1:00 PM · Half-Day Forum
Co-located with the Energy Drone & Robotics Summit
Forum registration includes full EDRS 2026 access