In an unprecedented development, a mysterious fleet of drones entered restricted U.S. airspace and swarmed a military base housing the F-22 Raptors stealth fighter jets for about 17 days.
According to the Wall Street Journal, U.S. military personnel reported seeing a fleet of unidentified unmanned aircraft breach restricted airspace at Langley Air Force Base along the Virginian coast on several nights in December 2023.
An official from the base reportedly informed U.S. Air Force Gen. Mark Kelly that the drones would begin arriving approximately 45 minutes to an hour after sunset every day. This development prompted the decorated senior commander to visit the airbase.
Kelly reported that the first drone he observed was around 20 feet long, flying over 100 miles per hour and hovering between 3,000 and 4,000 feet in the air. This was followed by up to a dozen or more drones that flew over Chesapeake Bay, toward Norfolk, Virginia, and through a space with a view of Naval Station Norfolk, the biggest naval port in the world and the home to the US Navy’s SEAL Team Six.
Langley Air Force Base is formally part of Joint Base Langley-Eustis which also includes the US Army’s Fort Eustis installation. The Langley Air Base houses the F-22 Raptors and is, thus, considered crucial to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM).
In fact, the F-22 Raptor that shot down an alleged Chinese spy balloon in February 2023 belonged to the 1st Fighter Wing based at Langley Air Force Base, Virginia.
The WSJ report stated that officials could not determine whether the drone fleet that descended upon the airbase was controlled by adversaries such as China or Russia or by drone enthusiasts.
Moreover, unless they present an immediate threat, the military is not allowed by federal law to shoot down drones near US military installations.
The WSJ report stated that President Biden was apprised of the situation, which led to two weeks of deliberations at the White House in December 2023. The meeting was also attended by the FBI, the Pentagon’s Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) office, the Defense Department, and other external experts.
These drone incursions that took place in December were reported by US media in March 2024, based on NORAD chief Gen. Gregory Guillot’s testimony before the Senate Armed Services Committee. The publication stated that the severity of the incident forced the US to bring sophisticated assets like NASA’s WB-57F high-flying research planes to the facility.
“The installation first observed UAS [uncrewed aerial systems] activities the evening of December 6 [2023] and experienced multiple incursions throughout December. The number of UASs fluctuated and ranged in size/configuration,” a Langley Air Force Base spokesperson told War Zone at the time. The extent of the breach was, however, not known until recently.
The latest reports have exposed the vulnerability of US airbases to drones. There have been several worrying instances of drone breaches in the US. Two months before the drone fleet appeared over Langley airbase, five drones had mysteriously broken through restricted airspace over the Energy Department’s Nevada Nuclear Security Site outside Las Vegas.
In several cases, civilian drones have been reported to be hovering over major military installations. For example, an unauthorized drone flew over Japan’s Yokosuka Naval Base earlier this year, where the US aircraft carrier, the USS Ronald Reagan, was deployed. The drone allegedly recorded footage of Japan’s Izumo aircraft carrier and took multiple photos of the USS Ronald Reagan. The visuals were posted on Chinese social media.
However, the 2023 incursions may be the first incident of its kind in the United States, and the Pentagon is aware that drones are becoming a dangerous weapon of war that can deliver explosives & toxic poisons and spy over sophisticated equipment.
In May 2024, a senior defense official reported that no drones were observed over any military facility during the December 2023 incident. However, two to three drones flew near military facilities each week.
“You can only report what you see, and so that’s part of the challenge,” the senior defense official said. “But I’d say that’s usually two or three a week, total across the U.S. And it’s never primarily in one part of the country or another. It’s fairly random, or it seems to be random.”
Despite limited coverage of these incidents in Western media, the Pentagon is taking the threat of drones seriously. This is demonstrated by the US Air Force’s implementation of anti-drone measures to safeguard its advanced fighter jets from drone menace.
F-22 Raptors To Be Protected By Anti-Drone Nets
U.S. Air Force authorities at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia are considering installing anti-drone nets to safeguard the F-22 Raptor stealth warplanes.
On October 4, the 633rd Contracting Squadron of Langley issued a notice seeking information regarding possible counter-drone netting that might be erected around up to 42 open-ended sunshade-style shelters currently in place at the base.
The 633rd “is in the process of determining the acquisition strategy to obtain non-personal services for the Unmanned Aerial Services (UAS) Netting for East Ramp Metal Sunshades,” read the contracting notice. “The intention of the netting is to deter and ultimately prevent the intrusion of UAS’s near airmen and aircraft. This initial sunshade netting installation on the metal sunshade (bay Alpha 1) shall serve as a proof of concept for the remaining sunshades.”
The notice further stated that the netting must be able to disable a Group 1/ “Small” Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) like the DJI Matrice 300 RTK while it stays attached. The U.S. military classifies Group 1 drones as those with a maximum weight of twenty pounds, a maximum altitude of one thousand feet, and a top speed of one hundred knots.
It added: “The “netting shall be composed of a UV-resistant, moisture-resistant material capable of withstanding temperatures up to 400°F without damage. It shall also have a tensile strength of 200 lbs. or greater. Polyester or nylon are preferred materials, but any material with adequate properties is acceptable. Netting squares shall be no larger than 3” across.”
The 633rd mandates that the nets must be “quickly and easily retractable” so that F-22s can enter and exit without difficulty, regardless of how they are set up and placed. Additionally, the installations cannot obstruct traffic on the nearby taxiways.
Though the USAF earlier said that the incursions at Langley were not made by “hostile drones,” multiple bases across the United States are, nonetheless, exploring counter-measures to ensure the safety of their cutting-edge combat aircraft from potential sabotage.
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