A crucial US Air Force (USAF) facility was forced to close its airspace over the weekend, sparking a fresh round of concern amid a spate of similar incidents involving mysterious drones hovering over its military installations. The Pentagon, however, has no answers—yet.
Some unidentified drones were spotted over Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio on the intervening night of December 13-14, according to reports that cited the base spokesperson Bob Purtiman. A Notice to Airmen (NOTAM) was also posted on a federal website, prompting the closure of the airspace for about four hours.
The Wright-Patterson Air Traffic Control Tower recording was posted on YouTube. The controller tells an aircraft, referred to as “MedFlight 8,” to “use extreme caution for heavy UAS movement on the base.” The controller can also be heard informing the flight that the base’s class D airspace—typically the region surrounding an airport up to 2,500 feet in altitude—will be blocked while security personnel deal with the issue.
The incident has triggered fresh concerns about security because the sprawling Wright-Patterson AFB houses some critical wings, including the 655th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing, the National Air and Space Intelligence Center, the Air Force Research Lab, the 445th Airlift Wing, and the host 88th Air Base Wing. It is also home to the USAF’s F-16 and the C-17 Globemaster III.
More importantly, the incident is just another in a string of inexplicable drone sightings over US military installations. One of the first such sightings was reported in December 2023 over the Langley Air Force Base, which is home to the mighty F-22 Raptors and considered crucial to the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and the United States Northern Command (NORTHCOM).
The sightings over Langley AFB were so concerning that they prompted US Air Force Gen. Mark Kelly to visit the base himself.
Kelly reported that the first drone he saw was around 20 feet long, hovering between 3,000 and 4,000 feet in the air, and traveling at about 100 miles per hour. Subsequently, a dozen or more drones across the Chesapeake Bay headed for Norfolk, Virginia. They passed through an area overlooking Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval port and the location of the US Navy’s SEAL Team Six.
While the US military and the Pentagon were still grappling with the issue and investigating the Langley incursions, many more drones started appearing over military installations across the United States and in the airspace of its close allies, leaving the Pentagon anxious.
The Drone Menace Left The Pentagon Flummoxed
The drone incident over Wright-Patterson AFB comes days after similar sightings were reported in the UK and Germany.
The United States Air Force in Europe (USAFE) disclosed last month that several small, unidentified drones were spotted close to three of its airbases in the United Kingdom: RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk, and RAF Feltwell in Norfolk, eastern England. The incidents took place between November 20 and 22.
More recently, the 86th Airlift Wing, stationed at the Ramstein Air Base, and German police officials confirmed that unidentified small drones appeared over the strategic US military base in Ramstein earlier this month. Additionally, a security source told Reuters that while the German officials have not been able to track the drone operators, they have ruled out the prospect that amateurs piloted the drones.
Intriguingly, there have been many such incidents of drone sightings in mainland US. Over the past month, reports of the drones have come from California, Connecticut, Florida, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Virginia. At least one airport, Stewart International Airport in New York, temporarily closed its runways for approximately an hour on the night of December 13 due to reported drone activity.
New Jersey has been abuzz with mysterious drone activity. Since mid-November, dozens of witnesses have reported seeing drones across the state, including over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf property in Bedminster, near the military research and manufacturing site known as the Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Weapons Station Earle.
Though these sightings have made residents of New Jersey anxious, they have been somewhat underplayed by the administration.
Despite confirming the drone sightings above two military installations in New Jersey, the Joint Staff spokesperson said that these sightings are typical. “We have had confirmed sightings at Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Weapons Station Earle,” the spokesperson said. “This is not a new issue for us. We’ve had to deal with drone incursions over our bases for quite a time now. It’s something that we routinely respond to in every case when reporting is cited.”
Moreover, the spokesperson said that the military was forbidden from conducting intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance activities in the United States that could be used to identify the origins of the drone operators.
The spokesperson added, “The main point is to deter the activity using some of our electronic means that can respond to most of these small commercial systems and deny them access to the airspace over our bases. We don’t know what the activity is. We don’t know … if it is criminal. But I will tell you that it is irresponsible. Here on the military side, we are just as frustrated with the irresponsible nature of this activity.”
While the Pentagon does not know where the drones came from and has been unable to establish their intent, the sightings have triggered a spate of conspiracy theories—some of which have received significant traction. For instance, some have raised the possibility of a hostile country, including Iran, North Korea, or Russia, sending these drones for spying or sabotage. In contrast, others believe the drones are UFOs. Some pages dedicated to solving the drone mystery have cropped up on social media sites.
Earlier, New Jersey republican Jeff Van Drew said that the drones were likely originating from an Iranian “mothership” lurking in the Atlantic. “That mothership… is off the East Coast of the United States of America. They’ve launched drones into everything that we can see or hear,” Van Drew told Fox News, stating that he got the information from some high sources.
However, these speculations were shot down by Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh last week. Singh said, ”There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there’s no so-called mothership launching drones towards the United States.” More importantly, Singh emphasized that the preliminary assessment conducted by the Pentagon suggested: “These are not drones coming from a foreign entity or adversary.”
Moreover, Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said on December 16 that he doubted the drones were collecting intelligence because of their brightness and volume. He stated that about 8,000 drones fly daily in the United States out of the approximately 1 million registered.
Despite all assurances made by the Biden administration, the current status is that the Pentagon does not know much about these drones.
However, it is already proving to be dangerous. For instance, there have been reports of lasers aimed at aircraft across New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, jeopardizing the safety of commercial and military aircraft pilots. For now, the mysterious drone activity continues unabated even though an investigation is underway.
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