Could a Community Drone Detection Network Bolster Airspace Safety?

As more UAVs take to the skies, SkySafe is launching FliteGrid to help the community track them.

Jack Daleo

Tuesday, November 18, 2025 at 11:30 AM ET

Verified

Edited By:

Travis Tingle

FliteGrid participants will use sensors to track drones in exchange for rewards. [Credit: SkySafe]

Key Takeaways:

The FAA struggles to track the vast number of drones in U.S. skies, despite its Remote ID rule requiring drones to broadcast data, due to a lack of infrastructure to collect this information effectively.
SkySafe has launched FliteGrid, a new community-powered, decentralized drone detection network designed to build the necessary infrastructure for collecting Remote ID data nationwide.
Individuals can participate by purchasing a FliteGrid sensor ($949, shipping 2026) to collect drone data, earning points that will be convertible to virtual $FLITE tokens (expected 2027).
This initiative aims to create a comprehensive national drone tracking network for SkySafe's clients (e.g., law enforcement, critical infrastructure) and support the FAA's vision for a robust Uncrewed Aircraft Systems (UAS) Traffic Management (UTM) network.

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According to drone detection and forensics provider SkySafe, there are too many drones in U.S. skies for the FAA alone to track them.

Per the agency, there are more than 820,000 FAA-registered drones—more than half for commercial purposes—as of July. That does not include recreational drones weighing below 0.55 pounds, which do not need to be registered. To improve oversight, the FAA in 2024 began enforcing its remote identification rule, requiring drones to be equipped with digital license plates that broadcast location, speed, altitude, and other data.