The Washington National Guard simulated drone attacks on Seattle’s Lumen Field earlier this month in an exercise that put the 2026 FIFA World Cup center stage.
The Nov. 5 rehearsals, part of the Counter-Unmanned Aerial Systems Summit, were hosted by Maj. Gen. Gent Welsh, Washington’s adjutant general and homeland security adviser.
The summit’s key event was a tabletop exercise that simulated an array of drone attacks: one against Lumen Field during a World Cup match and two more against critical infrastructure.
The simulations explored possible drone launch sites and tactics attackers could use, and tested interagency cooperation in response to evolving threats.
“If you think about where the world was on Sept. 10, we are at a very similar place,” Welsh said in a release, adding that the troubling findings of the 9/11 Commission Report served as motivation for organizing the summit.
“[That] report talked about red flags that popped up prior to 9/11, and now we have seen what is happening across the globe with drones and need to be ready,” Welsh said.
In the end, the exercise exposed responders to numerous “obstacles” to accomplishing a unified response, including “limited authorities across various levels of government, gaps in resources and barriers embedded in current policy and legal frameworks.”
The exercises made clear that actionable solutions to drone threats are needed across the board, the release stated.
“We have a lot of people talking about the problem, from different angles, but we are talking past each other,” Welsh said. “I am glad we finally got everyone together and can walk through the problem.”
National Guard units across different states regularly hold tabletop exercises to prepare for emergencies and disasters, such as floods and hurricanes.
The simulations are used to establish clear lines of communication between the Guard and interagency partners, streamline command and control and establish areas of responsibility to ensure efficient responses to disaster situations.
Next year’s FIFA World Cup will see soccer matches held in 11 major metropolitan stadiums across the United States, which will host games along with Canada and Mexico.
Zita Ballinger Fletcher previously served as editor of Military History Quarterly and Vietnam magazines and as the historian of the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration. She holds an M.A. with distinction in military history.