WarrenUAS is building an exciting new program of study in the critical counter unmanned aircraft systems (C-UAS) sector, adding to its extensive, fast-growing drone training program and meeting a clear need in the security field, where students can find quickly evolving, engaging, lucrative careers.
WarrenUAS, the drone training program at Warren County Community College in Washington N.J., has grown to be one of the most respected institutions in the country for education in the field. This fall it will enroll more than 100 students, who will get extensive hands-on training on some 75 UAS systems at extensive new facilities. They’ll have access to leaders in the field, offering classroom instruction, guidance during flight and research opportunities in the latest areas of drone use.
“The need for well-trained professionals in this field of C-UAS has become clear. We’ve seen use of drones grow dramatically in military action and international security and in perceived threats here, real or not,” said Will Austin, president of Warren County Community College and the founder of WarrenUAS. “We wanted to meet that need and offer students a pathway to employment in these exciting roles.”
The college is carefully developing a thorough curriculum in the sector and has added professional staff, including Brandon Youngblood, chief executive of Drone Defense Professionals, who has had 22 years of UAS experience with the last seven being solely focused on domestic C-UAS national policy, technology and operations. Youngblood is a former FAA manager responsible for the oversight of UAS Security, interagency C-UAS operations coordination and security airspace management.
Youngblood will serve as a consultant to Warren, drawing on his experience working with the National Security Council (NSC) and multiple federal agencies, including the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Justice, and Energy, as well as the Federal Communications Commission and National Telecommunications and Information Administration.
“I’m excited to join the team at WarrenUAS and have this opportunity to help build this program and share some of my experience with students who want to get involved in this burgeoning field of C-UAS. There is continually new information and technology and huge opportunities for well-trained pilots, technicians and security and public safety professionals.
Youngblood says the training at WarrenUAS will include, but not be limited to, a baseline understanding of federal and state legal requirements and developing legal frameworks, a C-UAS technology overview and updates on the potential collateral impacts on civilian infrastructure and the developing landscape of illicit UAS use.
“Drone threats impact just about every type of industry. From critical infrastructure, to data centers, prison systems, corporate and national security espionage, the potential targets of illicit drone operators are virtually limitless,” he said.
In addition to formal course offerings, Youngblood will also help WCCC develop public safety and private security workshops, focusing on drone incursion response and organizational drone security policy development. Youngblood will also be aiding WCCC to cultivate federal security partnerships with the goal of intern and job placement for C-UAS focused students.
He noted that the sector is quickly getting attention from those in law enforcement, the military and commercial industry who want to protect their assets.
“The illicit use of drones has expanded significantly over the last five years,” Youngblood said, noting that at a recent Senate Judiciary Committee hearing, the Department of Homeland Security, Deputy Director for C-UAS, Steve Willoughby stated that “Transnational criminal organizations use drones to convey illicit narcotics and contraband across U.S. borders and to conduct hostile surveillance of law enforcement.”
In addition to drug smuggling along the U.S./Mexico border, drones are being used to smuggle contraband into prison systems across the globe. For example, in the 12 months prior to March 2025, the number of drone incidents in prisons increased to 1,712 from 1,196 over the previous year, an increase of 43 percent.
It is part of several growing offerings from Warren in the fields where unmanned system use is booming—areas like agriculture and utilities, transportation, environmental research and in the entertainment, hospitality or real estate industry.
Austin noted that the college will continue to build the program to meet the needs of students with an increasing interest in unmanned systems—and the public and private sectors, whose demand for professionals is growing as fast as any employment segment. The C-UAS training is part of that mission.
WarrenUAS has grown rapidly in the past seven years, this fall expecting to enroll around 100 students who will have an opportunity to work with five-million-dollars-worth of drone and robotic equipment, including the latest technology such as advanced multispectral sensing, aerial robotic spraying and treatment, and data processing through artificial intelligence.
Austin points out that of Warren graduates are often getting jobs well before graduation, in a wide range of fields, some with starting compensation of over $100,000
Custom training for working professionals is an important part of what Warren County Community College offers as an educational institution, Miller said.
Additionally, Warren Community College has just been awarded $15,000 grant from FirstEnergy Foundation that will help defray the cost of conducting such custom training in order to make such important high-level skills more accessible to smaller municipal police departments and first responders who otherwise might not have the budgets for such training.
WarrenUAS has enjoyed a well-developed relationship with the Federal Aviation Administration, with the FAA hosting their regional conference at the college in Spring 2023. Additionally, it is one of the only entities in existence that is authorized by the FAA to train UxS operators with their night waiver, operations over people waiver, and beyond visual line of sight operations waivers.
