U.S. Military Bases, Sensitive Sites Targeted by Drones for Years

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A sudden spike in unidentified drone sightings near sensitive government sites is unnerving residents and lawmakers alike.

The concern follows more than a month of reported drone sightings in or near the airspace of airports and military facilities in California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Virginia, as well as overseas bases in Germany and the UK.

Below is a timeline of the most notable confirmed sightings.

Dec. 16 – Hill Air Force Base, Utah

Several drone sightings are confirmed at Hill Air Force Base in Utah on Dec. 16. One drone flies close to the fuel storage at the facility.

The base houses the Ogden Air Logistics Complex, which oversees the management of a wide range of aircraft, missiles, and software for the military. It is also home to several dozen advanced F-35 fighter aircraft.

Drone encounters in this location began in 2022 and have continued intermittently to the present.

Dec. 13–17 – Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio

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The police used drone monitoring technology to track the operators’ position on a nearby island. There, they confronted three individuals who fled on foot. Two of the three were taken into custody and charged with trespassing, while a third escaped by boat and remains at large.

Dec. 13 – Stewart International Airport, New York

The Stewart International Airport is forced to close its runways for an hour while an unidentified drone flies around the facility.

A spokesperson for the base told The Epoch Times that there is no threat to operations at the installation, without elaborating.

“Force protection considerations restricts our ability to provide further information to ensure the operational security of the installation and the safety and welfare of the base population and the surrounding areas,” the spokesperson said.

Dec. 3 – Ramstein Air Base, Germany

Unauthorized drones fly over the sprawling Ramstein Air Base in western Germany. The facility is a major hub for the U.S. military and houses NATO’s central command for all allied air and space forces.

Nov. 30 – Vandenberg Space Force Base, California

Chinese national Yinpiao Zhou allegedly flies an unregistered drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

Zhou allegedly uses the drone to photograph SpaceX rocket pads on the same day the company is launching a sensitive national reconnaissance payload from the base.

Trump added in a post on his Truth Social media platform that the drones should be shot down if the government does not know where they are coming from.

Lakenheath serves as the U.S. Air Forces in Europe’s only fighter wing of fifth-generation F-35 aircraft.

Mildenhall serves as the base for the 100th Air Refuelling Wing, while Feltwell functions as a centre for housing, schools, and other essential services.

Sixty British troops are reportedly drafted to help the U.S. forces investigate the incident and determine who is responsible for flying the drones.

Nov. 13 – Picatinny Arsenal, New Jersey

Drones violated the airspace of Picatinny Arsenal at least 11 times in November, a local commander says. The facility serves as the U.S. Army’s primary center for arms and munitions research and development.

The confirmed sightings mean that there were 11 times that a police officer or security guard witnessed a drone after receiving a report, according to the facility’s garrison commander. Local officers were unable to confirm seven additional reports.

Plant 42 is a classified aircraft manufacturing facility owned by the U.S. Air Force and also used by NASA.

The number of unidentified objects spotted fluctuated and “ranged in size and configuration,” according to a statement made to the outlet by a press officer at Edwards Air Force Base, of which the facility serves as a satellite.

The drones fly in formation and include fixed-wing drones and quadcopters. They also appear to operate around other U.S. military installations in Virginia, including the world’s largest naval port—Naval Station Norfolk—and another installation serving as headquarters for the elite SEAL Team Six.

Local officials eventually say no laws were being broken and that drone pilots are not required to file flight plans unless in controlled airspace, such as near an airport.

The incident raises alarm bells throughout the military and triggers a joint investigation by elements of the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and FBI. Members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the commander of the Pacific Fleet are kept primed with updates on the situation.

Neither the White House nor the Department of Defense acknowledge what the drones were seeking to accomplish or who was flying them.

Likewise, Kirby told reporters that many of the 5,000 reports of drone sightings over the past week were attributable to hobbyists, commercial drones, and people misidentifying stars as aircraft.

“If we had information, intelligence or otherwise, that told us that there was a national security threat posed by this drone activity, I would say that,” Kirby said.

“We need to identify who is behind these drones,” Rep. Michael McCaul (R-Texas) told reporters this week.

“My judgment, based on my experience, is that those that are over our military sites are adversarial and most likely are coming from the People’s Republic of China.”