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The FBI is deploying an anti-drone task force to protect World Cup fans amid fears terrorists could be planning a spectacular attack on US soil.
Security chiefs fear extremists may target stadiums packed with thousands of fans with swarms of suicide drones capable of causing mass casualties live on global television.
FBI agents and police officers are being trained to detect and disable drones similar to those causing devastation in Ukraine.
The FIFA World Cup starts in less than four weeks, with millions of visitors expected to travel across 11 US cities.
The tournament is also being played in Mexico and Canada.
Security sources have revealed that FBI agents will lead the task force, composed of officers from New York, New Jersey, Miami and Los Angeles, who will operate counter-drone equipment.
The move comes amid growing concern that commercially available drones could be used to disrupt or attack large public gatherings, following recent incidents linked to sports venues, extremist plots and overseas conflicts.
Devin Kowalski, an FBI assistant director who oversees the Critical Incident Response Group, warned of the drone threat.
He said: “Every major public gathering, from a World Cup match to an America 250 celebration, is now a drone environment. The public expects and deserves those skies to be watched.”
Intelligence chiefs claim the spread of cheap first-person-view drones used in Ukraine has changed how security officials protect major sporting events.
Anti-drone technology was previously used in the UK during the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham.
Similar technology has also been used to protect both military and civilian airfields in the UK.
But one former Delta Force intelligence analyst warned that the US was not prepared for drone attacks during the World Cup.
Brett Velicovich said: “I feel like there’s going to be another 9/11, but this time without the martyrs because you don’t need humans anymore to cause sensational damage.
“It wouldn’t surprise me if there was a drone attack on America by somebody who had some sort of training either in Russia or Ukraine. There just has to be the will to do it.
“We’ve got the World Cup and Olympics coming up, and there’s hardly any protection. Most police officers not only do not know how to shoot a drone down, but in many cases they are not authorised to, and that’s a big problem.”
The Center for Strategic and International Studies said that “drones are increasingly a wild card”, used by Russia and Iran, as well as sophisticated “non-state actors” such as Hezbollah, the Lebanese militant group.
“A handful of lone attackers in the US in recent years have attempted to use them to deliver explosives, though none have succeeded, and airspace in cities is increasingly secured against the drone threat.”
The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced that on match days, all aircraft operations, including drones, will be prohibited within a radius of three nautical miles and up to 3,000ft above ground around the main stadiums, unless authorised by air traffic control.
The FAA will establish no-drone zones during matches, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) has said it plans to deploy 60 trained counter-drone officers across the 11 host cities.
Phil Ingram, a former British Army colonel and intelligence expert, also warned of the threat posed by drones.
He said: “Drone technology is not limited to the battlefields of Ukraine and is easily accessible to terrorists. Drones constitute one of the biggest and hardest-to-counter threats facing the World Cup in the US, Canada and Mexico, and require a task force bringing together the disparate organisations trying to keep the event safe.”
