Drone swarms over key military sites spark fears of foreign surveillance

[LAUREN TAYLOR]

FOR 17 NIGHTS, UNIDENTIFIED DRONES REPEATEDLY BREACHED RESTRICTED AIRSPACE OVER LANGLEY AIR FORCE BASE IN VIRGINIA.

THE ACTION TRIGGERING SERIOUS CONCERNS AMONG MILITARY AND NATIONAL SECURITY OFFICIALS. SOME DRONES WERE ESTIMATED TO BE AS LARGE AS 20 FEET, FLYING AT SPEEDS EXCEEDING 100 MILES PER HOUR.

AIR FORCE GEN. MARK KELLY, ALONG WITH OTHER SENIOR OFFICIALS, PERSONALLY OBSERVED THE DRONES AS THEY FLEW NEAR CRITICAL MILITARY INSTALLATIONS, INCLUDING NAVAL STATION NORFOLK (NOR-FUK), HOME TO THE NAVY’S SEAL TEAM SIX.

MILITARY OFFICIALS REMAIN UNCERTAIN ABOUT THE ORIGIN OF THE DRONES, THOUGH THERE IS SPECULATION THEY COULD BE PART OF A FOREIGN OPERATION, POTENTIALLY LINKED TO RUSSIA OR CHINA, AIMED AT TESTING U.S. MILITARY DEFENSES. DESPITE THE DEPLOYMENT OF FIGHTER JETS AND ADVANCED SURVEILLANCE SYSTEMS, THE DRONES DISAPPEARED EACH NIGHT WITHOUT LEAVING A TRACE.

FEDERAL LAW PREVENTS THE MILITARY FROM SHOOTING DOWN DRONES UNLESS THEY POSE AN IMMEDIATE THREAT, FURTHER COMPLICATING THE RESPONSE. THE INCIDENTS REACHED PRESIDENT BIDEN, PROMPTING TWO WEEKS OF HIGH-LEVEL WHITE HOUSE MEETINGS INVOLVING THE DEFENSE DEPARTMENT, THE FBI, AND OTHER NATIONAL SECURITY AGENCIES.

THIS ISN’T THE FIRST SUCH BREACH. TWO MONTHS EARLIER, DRONES WERE SPOTTED FLYING OVER A NUCLEAR WEAPONS TESTING SITE IN NEVADA. OFFICIALS ARE ALSO UNSURE OF WHO WAS RESPONSIBLE FOR THAT INCIDENT.

IN JANUARY, A CHINESE NATIONAL WAS ARRESTED IN JANUARY FOR FLYING A DRONE NEAR A NAVAL SHIPYARD IN VIRGINIA WHERE NUCLEAR SUBMARINES ARE BUILT. WHILE IT’S UNCLEAR IF THIS IS LINKED TO THE LANGLEY SWARMS, IT HIGHLIGHTS GROWING CONCERNS ABOUT DRONES BEING USED AROUND SENSITIVE U.S. SITES.

NATIONAL SECURITY EXPERTS WARN THAT THESE INCIDENTS ARE A GROWING THREAT, NOT JUST IN THE U.S. BUT GLOBALLY. THE PENTAGON CONTINUES TO INVESTIGATE, BUT FOR NOW, THE IDENTITY AND PURPOSE BEHIND THE LANGLEY DRONE SWARM REMAINS UNSOLVED.

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