Serge Potapov is the Acting Assistant Administrator of the Federal Air Marshal Service’s Law Enforcement Operations Division.
Potapov steps into the acting role after more than 28 years in federal transportation security, law enforcement and counterterrorism. Most recently, he has served as Executive Director within the Federal Air Marshal Service’s Flight Operations Division, where he provides strategic leadership on aviation threat mitigation, TSA’s Insider Threat Program, interagency law enforcement partnerships, and vulnerability assessments for unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) and man-portable air defense systems (MANPADS). In that position, he led the integration of TSA’s counter-UAS capabilities into security operations for the 2024 presidential campaign and 2025 inauguration, expanded joint vulnerability assessment work across 20 field offices, and oversaw the establishment of TSA’s first Aviation Program Unit, which is integrating UAS as an extension of the Federal Air Marshal Service’s multidisciplinary law enforcement capabilities.
Previously, Potapov led the Washington Field Office as Acting Supervisory Air Marshal in Charge, overseeing a workforce of more than 200 personnel responsible for securing National Capital Region and major domestic and international flights. There, he launched an Aviation Operations Unit that significantly increased high-value threat mitigation activities, supported TSA’s responses to Hurricane Ian and other major events, and piloted UAS detection and response capabilities at regional airports. Earlier leadership roles included serving as Supervisory Air Marshal in Charge of TSA’s Security Assessments Section, where he helped launch TSA’s first UAS Assessments Unit, secured additional DHS funding for UAS detection capabilities, and co-chaired an Aviation Security Advisory Committee subcommittee on insider threats.
Potapov’s experience extends outside TSA’s headquarters environment and into operational and investigative work. He has managed federal air marshal deployments and MANPADS risk-mitigation operations in the National Capital Region, supported high-risk investigations alongside the FBI, and served as the first Federal Air Marshal assigned to the FBI’s International Terrorism Operations Section. In that joint role, he advised on aviation threat mitigation, helped establish several international bi-lateral security agreements, and trained international partners in terrorist travel detection and aviation security.
Before joining TSA in 2002, Potapov worked in the private sector on an international NASA project involving secure transport, export control compliance, and integration of space hardware. His national security career began in uniform as a Marine sergeant with the 2nd Force Reconnaissance Company at Camp Lejeune, where he served in a maritime special purpose force forward deployed with the 24th Marine Expeditionary Unit.
Potapov holds a Master of Arts in Security Studies (Homeland Defense and Security) from the Naval Postgraduate School, a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Maryland Global Campus, and a Key Executive Leadership certificate from American University.
(AI was used in part to facilitate this article.)