Drone swarms over US bases

 National Review:

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In December 2023, swarms of drones began appearing over Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Va. Witnesses and video evidence confirm that — for 17 consecutive nights — dozens of drones invaded the airspace of one of the most important American air bases on the East Coast.

As CBS reports, General Mark Kelly, a now retired four-star, was the highest-ranking American officer to lay eyes on the swarms over Langley: “A veteran fighter pilot, Kelly went up to the roof of a squadron headquarters for an unobstructed view of the airborne invaders,” where, he says, “what you saw was different sizes of incursions of aircraft.”

You saw different altitudes, different air speeds. Some were rather loud. Some weren’t near as loud. . . . The smallest, you know you’re talking about a commercial-size quadcopter. And then the largest ones are probably [the] size [of] what I would call a bass boat or a small car.

Again, this went on for 17 consecutive days, after which the drone sightings suddenly ceased. Alarmingly, while bases such as Langley have advanced radar and surveillance systems installed for their defense against high-altitude aircraft and missiles, the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) and most domestic military installations do not have the kinds of systems required to track small, low-flying drones.

U.S. officials have not ruled out the possibility that a foreign actor was responsible for the events in Virginia. The Air Force was so concerned about the incident at Langley that it redeployed F-22 Raptor fighters that are normally stationed there.
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Drones have changed the face of battle in several different ways.  In this instance, they appear to be engaged in espionage, but they could also be used to attack targets on the ground.   It would not surprise me to see US drones used against the hostile drones.

See also:

First Red Sea naval attack in months raises alarms

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Al-Akhbar, a pro-Iranian Lebanese media outlet, reported that “two unmanned aerial vehicles collided with the side of a ship.” It was not clear if this was the same incident. Al-Ain media in the UAE also reported on the incident.
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The attack on the ship comes as Iranian-backed militias in Iraq are also suspected of numerous drone and missile attacks over the past two weeks.
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And:

 Ukraine says it struck a Russian air base as Moscow sent hundreds of drones into Kyiv

Ukraine said it struck a Russian air base on Saturday, while Russia continued to pound Ukraine with hundreds of drones overnight as part of a stepped-up bombing campaign that has dashed hopes for a breakthrough in efforts to end the more than 3-year-old war.
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