House Oversight Committee Hearing on Drone Incursions Over US Military Installations

Threat of Unauthorized Drones Over Military Installations

• ⚠️ The unauthorized use of unmanned aerial systems (UAS) over U.S. military installations poses a complex and serious threat to national security.
• 📈 There has been a surge in drone incursions, with over 1 million drones registered in the U.S. and an estimated 8,500 flown legally daily.
• 🎯 These incursions are often coordinated efforts by adversaries for intelligence collection and surveillance, aiming to disrupt training and create chaos.

Challenges in Countering Drone Threats

• 🚫 Base commanders face inadequate monitoring capabilities, a near-total lack of counter-drone capabilities, unclear standard operating procedures, and ambiguous legal authorities.
• 🧩 A complex, fragmented regulatory framework involving multiple agencies (DOD, FAA, DOJ, DHS) leads to confusion and gaps in identifying and mitigating threats.
• 💡 The incident over New Jersey highlighted confusion, with temporary flight restrictions and mass confusion among partners, later revealed to be FAA-authorized.
• ✈️ The Langley Air Force Base incident in December 2023, where drones breached airspace for 17 days, forced the relocation of F-22 Raptor squadrons and initiated discussions on physical countermeasures.

Current Counter-UAS Efforts and Proposed Solutions

• 🎯 The Department of Defense (DoD) is prioritizing counter-UAS efforts, designating commanders of US Northern Command and US Indo-Pacific Command as operational synchronizers.
• 🛠️ Investments are being made in education, training, and the acquisition of domain awareness and counter-UAS systems.
• 📜 Legislative proposals aim to refine DoD's counter-UAS authorities under section 13I to protect additional locations and missions, provide stability, and facilitate inter-agency cooperation.
• 🤝 A whole-of-government approach and unified effort are required, involving modernization of threat assessment, identification of weaknesses, and deployment of countermeasures.

Technological and Legal Gaps

• 📉 The technology to field drone systems has far outpaced the technology to defeat them, creating a wider and deeper market for drone applications.
• 🤖 The coupling of AI with drone technology presents an exponentially increased threat, enabling autonomous navigation, real-time image recognition, and target identification.
• ⚖️ Discussions are ongoing regarding counter-drone authorities, with a focus on clarifying what commanders can and cannot do, especially when drones are off-base or when distinguishing between negligent and nefarious activity.
• 🚀 Efforts are underway to streamline DoD policies and reduce the complexity of existing regulations, such as cutting down the length of counter-UAS documentation to improve clarity for commanders.