By prapatsorn @Adobe Stock
Former U.S. Air Force General Glen VanHerck has warned that officials have underestimated the threat of drone swarms over U.S. military sites, citing incidents like drones flying over Langley Air Force Base in December 2023, reports Bill Whitaker of CBS News. Despite some dismissing the threat as the work of hobbyists, VanHerck sees a potential foreign threat. Current radar systems struggle to detect low-flying drones, and counter-drone efforts are hindered by bureaucratic challenges. While new technologies are being developed, experts agree more urgency is needed to address the growing risk of drone attacks on U.S. military infrastructure. Whitaker writes:
Officials in Washington have underestimated the threat posed by drones in U.S. airspace, despite several cases of mysterious drone swarms over sensitive military sites, warned Glen VanHerck, the former joint commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command and U.S. Northern Command. […]
“I think the threat got ahead of our ability to detect and track the threat. I think all eyes were, rightfully, overseas, where UAVs (unmanned aerial vehicles) were being used on one-way attack to attack U.S. and coalition service members.”
Federal Aviation Administration and NORAD surveillance technologies still lack the capabilities to detect a drone swarm at a low-altitude over a military facility in the U.S., he said. […]
“I think it’s because there’s a perception that this is fortress America: two oceans on the east and west, with friendly nations north and south, and nobody’s gonna attack our homeland,'” he said. “It’s time we move beyond that assumption.”
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