Pentagon warns it’s not prepared for homeland drone attack
NORAD commander Gen. Guillot has signed a new “standard operating procedure” for base commanders to deal with drones.
Audrey Decker | April 30, 2025 05:29 AM ET
Citing the hundreds of drones that flew around military sites last year, defense officials warn that the Pentagon is still unprepared to defend its installations—but say a new standard operating procedure, and expanded authorities, could help.
“Mass drone incursions over Joint Base Langley-Eustis in December 2023 reminded us that the homeland is no longer a sanctuary, and should our adversary choose to employ drones for surveillance or even attack, we would not be prepared to adequately defend our homeland and only marginally capable to defend our military installations,” Rear Adm. Paul Spedero, vice director for operations for the Joint Staff, said Tuesday during a House oversight subcommittee on military and foreign affairs hearing.
The mysterious drone swarms over Langley Air Force Base in Virginia in 2023 raised questions about when base commanders can legally take down drones, and how the military should coordinate with the various agencies that oversee U.S. airspace.
https://www.defenseone.com/threats/2025/04/pentagon-warns-its-not-prepared-homeland-drone-attack/404939/?oref=d1-featured-river-top