MetLife Stadium Drone Detection Success Story

ABOUT METLIFE

Drone Detection Built for Live Event Conditions

Protecting One of the NFL’s Largest Stadiums

Home to the New York Jets and New York Giants, MetLife Stadium has hosted a wide range of major events since opening in 2010, including NFL games, Super Bowl XLVIII, WrestleMania, the Copa America Centenario final, concerts, international soccer, and college football.

With large crowds and an extremely RF-heavy environment during major events, MetLife Stadium needed a drone detection solution that could maintain reliable performance while locating both drones and their operators.

82,500

Seats Across the Stadium

2 Million

Guests Welcomed Each Year

500+

Ticketed Events Hosted Since Opening

The Challenge

Finding the Right Detection System

MetLife Stadium evaluated multiple detection technologies to find a solution that met its legal, operational, and event-day demands.

Legal Restrictions

Jamming drone-pilot communications is prohibited by the FCC and can interfere with public safety systems. Federal wiretapping laws also restrict decoding private RF transmissions to identify drone types or GPS coordinates.

Locating the Operator

Of the systems MetLife Stadium evaluated, only RF-based detection could locate the drone operator, potentially even before takeoff. This gave security teams actionable information to coordinate with on-site law enforcement.

Event-Day Reliability

Several technologies performed well during initial demonstrations but struggled when tested during actual events. MetLife needed a system that could maintain reliable detection despite the stadium’s dramatically changing RF environment.

Parking Spaces

27,500

Event-day parking areas filled with connected devices, security equipment, and tailgating activity.

RF NOISE INCREASE

50,000×

Event-day RF background noise compared with non-event-day conditions.

THE SOLUTION

Detection Designed for the Real Event Environment

AirWarden was the only solution able to reliably detect and locate drone controllers in MetLife Stadium’s RF-heavy event-day environment, even during major events.

The AirWarden Drone Detection System was installed at MetLife Stadium in 2018. Since then, AeroDefense has continued working with the Stadium to enhance drone detection and location capabilities during events, helping staff notify on-site law enforcement for a quick and effective response.

AirWarden Installed in 2018

“RF is currently the best solution to identify where the drone and operator are, and the only one that we found that can detect the drone and controller when the RF connection is first established. Therefore, it’s possible that we can detect the drone before it even takes off. To detect the drone is nice. To detect and locate the pilot is a form of mitigation.”

MetLife Stadium

RESULTS

Faster Detection, Location & Response

AirWarden helps MetLife Stadium detect drone activity at the earliest stages, locate both drones and their operators, and provide actionable information that supports faster, more effective law enforcement intervention.

Early Warning

Drone and controller signals can be identified as soon as their RF connection is established, giving security teams visibility before the aircraft even takes off.

Pilot Location

Locating the drone and its controller allows on-site teams to have the pilot safely land the drone, determine the pilot’s intent, and educate them on applicable laws.