Mysterious drones have been spotted flying around one of the U.S.’s most sensitive military areas, leaving defense officials and local authorities stumped as to who is behind the unknown uncrewed aerial vehicles zipping across the sky around a major U.S. air base.
U.S. military personnel reported drones appearing in restricted airspace over Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia, shortly after sunset during a period of more than two weeks, according to The Wall Street Journal.
The drones appeared in December last year, according to the report, pulling in officials across the Pentagon, FBI and the Defense Department’s specialized office for investigating unidentified aerial phenomena.
One senior official based at Langley told The Journal that multiple drones headed across Chesapeake Bay and further south toward the city of Norfolk. They reportedly traveled across Naval Station Norfolk, the world’s largest naval port and the main base for the Navy’s vaunted SEAL Team Six. Unless the drones are an imminent threat, by law they cannot by shot down near military bases.
Officials haven’t determined if the drones belong to enthusiasts or are operated by countries such as Russia or China, according to the report. U.S. officials are not convinced that hobbyists were behind the controls, with the drones flying in a pattern and using a frequency band not associated with easily bought, commercial drones, The Journal reported.
The Pentagon referred queries to the U.S. Air Force and Langley, which Newsweek contacted via email for comment.
Langley is home to a number of F-22 Raptors, which are advanced fifth-generation stealth fighter jets. In early February last year, the Pentagon said an F-22 Raptor based at Langley shot down a Chinese spy balloon over water off the coast of South Carolina using an AIM-9X Sidewinder missile.
“The balloon, which was being used by the PRC in an attempt to surveil strategic sites in the continental United States, was brought down above U.S. territorial waters,” Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin said at the time, referring to Beijing by its official title, the People’s Republic of China.
The F-22 fighters were moved to another base, and night-time training missions were put on hold, according to The Journal‘s report.
The drones visible around Langley are different from previous sightings of drones, recorded for years around defense infrastructure, said General Glen VanHerck, who served as the head of the U.S.’s Northern Command.
Drones have been around for decades, but they are still presenting new challenges for national security and militaries around the world. Spurred by constant innovation along the frontlines in Ukraine, global militaries are keeping a close eye on how drones will be used for years to come, and how best to counter them. They can be used for a broad range of missions, ranging from reconnaissance to guiding artillery strikes, or ferrying explosives to a target before detonating.
On July 8, a Chinese citizen and graduate student at the University of Minnesota, Fengyun Shi, pleaded guilty to violating the Espionage Act for photographing classified U.S. Navy ships with a drone in Virginia.
The FBI said Shi, who was arrested in January, photographed Navy vessels at multiple shipyards. A Newport News shipyard was manufacturing next-generation aircraft carriers and nuclear submarines. Both contain classified components.
A statement of facts accompanying Shi’s plea agreement said he flew the drone only around the shipyards and did not take any photos that did not contain U.S. Navy vessels. He was arrested trying to board a one-way flight to China from California.
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