From Drones to Deeds: How a National Security Order Might Revive Property Owners’ Control Over Airspace

Somewhere above us, in the invisible corridors where policy, property and national security intersect, the fight for American airspace is underway. What began as a response to foreign drones and rogue balloons may ultimately reshape how we define ownership.

On June 6, 2025, President Donald J. Trump signed two Executive Orders, Restoring American Airspace Sovereignty (Sovereignty Order) and Unleashing American Drone Dominance (Dominance Order), both aimed at reinforcing American sovereignty over its airspace and establishing U.S. dominance in the drone and unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) sector. While these directives were crafted in the name of national defense, they have the potential to fundamentally shift longstanding property doctrines, opening new frontiers in real estate monetization.

For decades, the legal doctrine of ad coelum: “he who owns the land owns up to the heavens” has stood in philosophical contrast with federal regulations that limit how far property owners’ rights extend vertically. As cities built upward and airspace became a regulated zone, development rights, or “air rights,” became both a legal and commercial instrument. But what happens once those rights are fully utilized or sold? Are there still untapped ways for owners to leverage the skies?

The answer may lie in drones.

National Security Meets Property Law

The Sovereignty Order directs a coordinated federal response to threats from drones operated by criminals, foreign actors and hobbyists alike. It mandates:

• Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) restrictions on drone flights over critical infrastructure;
• Increased public availability of flight restriction data;
• Expanded civil and criminal enforcement by the Department of Justice (DOJ) and FAA;
• Federal support for drone detection by private property owners;
• Risk-based assessments to designate protected zones;
• Integration of counter-UAS measures into terrorism task forces;
• Creation of a National Training Center for Counter-UAS in advance of the 2026 FIFA World Cup and the 2028 Summer Olympics.

The Dominance Order, by contrast, pushes technological and commercial growth:

• Authorizing Beyond Visual Line of Sight (BVLOS) operations;
• Accelerating autonomous and electric vertical takeoff and landing (VTOL) technologies;
• Deploying Artificial Intelligence (AI) for waiver reviews and FAA application streamlining;
• Launching pilot programs for urban air mobility.

Together these two executive actions could catalyze a significant expansion of airspace use, and for real estate stakeholders, the implications are profound.

Practical Impacts on Real Estate

Urban Air Mobility and Rooftop Revenue

Electric aircraft, once only the material of science fiction, are becoming viable urban transport. Buildings with potential for skyports—particularly in dense urban environments—will command premiums. But they will also face new regulatory hurdles such as insurance, FAA certifications and municipal codes as this all evolves in real time.

Drone Delivery and Airspace Leasing

As drone corridors develop, property owners may lease airspace in much the same way they lease retail or antenna rights. Airspace leases will require novel legal constructs by defining boundaries in altitude, traffic rights, liability and enforcement.

Smart Cities and Surveillance

Municipal drone integration introduces tension between innovation and civil liberties. Real estate professionals will increasingly confront issues surrounding privacy rights, data ownership and coordination with city flight corridors.

Agriculture and Rural Land Use

In farmland and large estates, drones are already optimizing irrigation, crop analysis and land valuation, but FAA oversight and privacy laws still apply even in sparsely populated regions.

Building Operations and Lease Enforcement

Property managers are deploying drones for maintenance, reducing reliance on scaffolding and manual inspections. This efficiency comes with liability risks particularly around data collection and tenant privacy.

Construction Monitoring and OSHA Compliance

Developers are embracing drone monitoring for job site security and documentation. Legal frameworks must evolve to cover personal injury liability, evidentiary rules and employee rights.

Airspace Rights and Drone Trespass

The law has not yet fully caught up to drone flight. Where does trespass begin when the intrusion is airborne? Courts are only beginning to define the scope of nuisance and privacy violations in this new dimension.

Federal Preemption and Local Conflict

Although the FAA claims jurisdiction over navigable airspace, localities continue to adopt drone ordinances. Real estate owners and drone operators alike must navigate the tension between federal supremacy and municipal overreach.

Mapping and Appraisals

Drone-captured imagery is transforming how transactions and land surveys are conducted, offering enhanced accuracy but also raising questions about admissibility and evidentiary standards in legal disputes.

Disaster Recovery and Insurance

In the aftermath of hurricanes, wildfires and floods, drones allow faster insurance assessments translating to quicker recoveries and more precise loss documentation.

In the shadows of policy briefings and flight restrictions, it is clear that drones are instruments of legal and economic transformation. While they may not carry missiles, they are quietly targeting old assumptions about what it means to own property.

What began as a White House national security initiative may prove to be a turning point in how real estate stakeholders capitalize on the vertical frontier. For developers, landlords, insurers and municipalities, it is time to rethink the skyline—not just in terms of what can be built, but what can be flown, leased, or protected in the space above.

In a world where sovereignty is measured not just in borders but in bandwidth, altitude and autonomy, the next battleground of real estate is the sky.

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For more information on the intersection of Real Estate Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UAS) related matters, please contact:

Yariv C. Ben-Ari at +1 212 592 1440 or [email protected]

© 2025 Herrick, Feinstein LLP. This alert is provided by Herrick, Feinstein LLP to keep its clients and other interested parties informed of current legal developments that may affect or otherwise be of interest to them. The information is not intended as legal advice or legal opinion and should not be construed as such.