Task Force 401 Trains With Secret Service at MacDill

Joint Interagency Task Force 401 ran counter-drone training at MacDill Air Force Base with the 6th Security Forces Squadron and U.S. Secret Service agents.

Updated on Nov. 6, 2026 in Military

Wide photograph of an empty concrete apron at a coastal Florida air base, with a single dark sensor mast at a distance under bright daylight and palm fronds at the edge of the frame. — Joint Interagency Task Force 401 trained with the 6th Security Forces Squadron and U.S. Secret Service agents on counter-drone systems at MacDill Air Force Base in October. AI Illustration. Upload story photo >

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Joint Interagency Task Force 401 conducted counter-drone training at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida, in October 2026, involving the 6th Security Forces Squadron and U.S. Secret Service agents. The sessions gave participants hands-on experience with the Bumblebee V2 interceptor and the Paladin counter-drone system.

Why it matters

The training is intended to strengthen the ability to defend critical installations and infrastructure against evolving drone threats. It follows earlier JIATF 401 training with the 82nd Airborne Division and 75th Ranger Regiment.

The record documents the training as an official joint activity involving Task Force 401, but no participant counts or performance metrics for the Bumblebee V2 or Paladin systems were released. Figures on how the systems performed in the sessions remain unpublished.

The players

Joint Interagency Task Force 401

A joint task force that coordinates counter-drone efforts across military and federal agencies to address aerial threats to U.S. installations.

U.S. Secret Service

A federal agency responsible for protecting national leaders and securing major events, which joined the MacDill training.

The details

Participants trained with the Bumblebee V2, which uses super intelligence-enabled target recognition to intercept hostile drones through direct collision, and with the Paladin system, which employs a net-based interceptor to defeat aerial threats. The exercise built on earlier JIATF 401 sessions with the 82nd Airborne Division and 75th Ranger Regiment.

October 2026: Counter-drone training held at MacDill Air Force Base, Florida.

Big Picture

The MacDill session continues the sequence of JIATF 401 drills that began with the 82nd Airborne Division and 75th Ranger Regiment, extending counter-drone instruction to Air Force security forces and Secret Service agents. Each session adds new participating units to the same interceptor training track.

Residents near MacDill Air Force Base should expect possible access changes or security activity around the installation during training. The source does not specify any public closures or advisories tied to the exercise.

The takeaway

Counter-drone defense is being built through repeated joint exercises that bring together military units and federal agencies. Watching how these training sequences expand can show how defenses against small aerial threats are being developed.