Washington National Guard Rehearses Counterdrones at Lumen Field, World Cup Prep

Earlier this month the Washington National Guard staged a full scale exercise simulating drone attacks on Seattle’s Lumen Field, an operation timed to sharpen defenses ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Officials cast the drill as a rehearsal for the unique security demands of mass gatherings, focusing on the detection and disruption of unmanned aerial systems above a packed stadium and surrounding neighborhoods.

The exercise is part of a broader push within the military to incorporate unmanned systems into both offensive and defensive operations. At the same conference cycle, Guardsmen also trained on new platforms, including a first of its kind demonstration in which a Guardsman used a tablet to control an optionally piloted Black Hawk helicopter and to plan its task during an exercise. The activity underlines a rapid transition toward autonomous and remotely managed technologies that will shape responses to threats at major events.

The rehearsal at Lumen Field has immediate implications for public health and emergency preparedness. Wide scale drone incidents, whether kinetic strikes, drops of hazardous materials, or coordinated swarms causing panic, can produce not only direct injuries but also cascading impacts on emergency medical services. Hospitals could face sudden surges in patients, emergency transport routes could be disrupted, and first responder teams may have to juggle trauma care with detection and mitigation tasks. These operational pressures disproportionately strain underresourced clinics and community health centers that already serve marginalized populations.

Community impact extends beyond physical injury. Large scale security measures and visible military or law enforcement deployments can heighten anxiety among residents and fans, and can alter how people use public space. For neighborhoods around stadiums that often include low income communities and people of color, the benefits of heightened protection must be weighed against the risks of surveillance, displacement, and unequal access to response resources. Ensuring that event security does not exacerbate existing health and social inequities will require deliberate policy choices.

Policy questions are now in sharper relief. Coordination between state National Guard units, local police, public health agencies, and federal partners will be essential to effective counterdrone strategies. Investment is needed not only in detection and neutralization technologies but also in strengthening hospital surge capacity, emergency medical services, mental health supports, and public communication systems to manage fear and misinformation during an incident. Regulators will also need to balance rapid deployment of counter unmanned systems with civil liberties and safety in crowded urban environments.

Washington’s adjutant general and homeland security adviser has framed exercises like the Lumen Field drill as necessary preparation for the scale of World Cup events. As the 2026 tournament approaches, the conversation will broaden to include how to fund equitable preparedness, how to protect public health without militarizing civic spaces, and how to ensure that emerging technologies enhance safety for all communities rather than deepen disparities.