Drone swarms over key U.S. military bases raise concerns

[0:00] So, as we've seen, the war in Ukraine is providing a real-time testing ground for [0:04] nations defending against drones. But unidentified drones are also a concern here in the United [0:10] States. Liz Landers is here with more on a recent incident at a military base in Louisiana. [0:15] John, the week of March 9th, a swarm of drones repeatedly hovered around [0:18] Barksdale Air Force Base in northwest Louisiana. A spokesperson for the base tells PBS NewsHour [0:24] that it was unauthorized and criminal activity that's now being investigated by both federal [0:29] and local law enforcement. ABC News reported that the drone flights lasted four hours at a time, [0:35] deliberately maneuvered within the airspace over the base, and appeared to be jam-resistant. [0:41] Barksdale is a key facility for the U.S. in the ongoing fight with Iran, [0:45] housing B-52 bombers and nuclear weapons storage facilities. [0:49] For more on this, we turn to retired Air Force Lieutenant General Dave Deptula. [0:53] He is now the dean of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. [0:56] General, thank you for joining us this evening. [0:58] You bet, Liz. [1:00] Good to be here. [1:01] We just saw in Simon's story how advanced Ukraine's counter-drone technology is, [1:05] and yet the U.S. is having trouble stopping all these drones that Iran is launching at its [1:11] neighbors. How is it that Iran is so advanced here and that the U.S. is not? [1:18] Well, what I would tell you is that with respect to Ukraine, who are the real experts, [1:24] with respect to defense, is they're much better at defending against drone attacks because for them, [1:32] this is an existential fight. Russia is trying to eliminate Ukraine as a sovereign country, [1:39] erase its people, identity, and culture. So when a nation is facing that kind of threat every day, [1:46] it adapts with extraordinary speed and seriousness. And that's why I think that [1:53] it behooves the United States and our military to partner with Ukraine and learn from, [2:02] all their experience in defending against the drone assaults from the Russians. [2:08] Now, with respect to Iran, I think we need to be careful in defending or defining what the issue is, [2:18] because we essentially have reduced Iran's ability to employ their cruise missiles [2:25] and drones very, very significantly. Doesn't mean that it's been eliminated, [2:31] but that's part of the problem. And I think that's why I think that we need to be careful in defending against the drone assaults from the Russians. [2:32] So the following, what's the objective in launching the assaults that you've seen [2:36] today so very successfully applied against the Iranians? [2:41] When you look at that drone swarm that happened over Barksdale Air Force Base earlier this month, [2:45] what stands out to you? And how should the base commanders handle those kinds of situations? [2:52] Well, it's a great question. First, I think it's important to keep this event in perspective. [2:57] There was no mission impact from these incidents. [3:03] Preparations continued, and there's no indication that the activity disrupted the base's core [3:09] functions. [3:10] Now, all that said, the absence of mission impact should not be mistaken for the absence [3:17] of a problem, because unauthorized drone activity around sensitive military installations is [3:24] still a serious security concern, for all the reasons one might imagine. [3:30] Now, the good news is, the U.S. military does have the capacity to deal with this. [3:37] We have the technology, the operational experience, and the institutional knowledge to address [3:43] these threats. [3:44] So the issue is less about whether we can respond, and more about whether the responsible [3:51] organizations are putting enough priority and resources against the problem, and, in [3:57] particular, a service with the primary responsibility for [4:01] base defense, the United States Army, needs to increase its efforts on this topic. [4:07] So it's an area that requires greater attention, greater involvement, investment, and a much [4:14] greater sense of urgency that has been lent to the issue to date. [4:20] Who do you think is behind this incident at Barksdale? [4:22] Because we've seen that China has demonstrated very sophisticated drone use just for entertainment [4:28] purposes. [4:29] For example, they had a Guinness Book of World Records. [4:31] They had a Guinness World Records event last year, where there were more than 7,500 drones [4:36] that lit up the night sky in this just demonstration just for entertainment there in that city. [4:42] Yeah, well, that is, and I've witnessed several of those entertainment displays. [4:50] But those should not be confused with battlefield performance. [4:55] Flying thousands of unmanned aircraft in a scripted show under controlled conditions [5:00] really different from operating in China. [5:01] So, you know, we've seen a lot of that. [5:02] We've seen a lot of people operating in combat under jamming, interference, attrition, and [5:08] attack. [5:09] So the military question is not whether they can do choreography. [5:13] It's whether they can function in a contested environment. [5:16] Sir, what kind of information can be obtained and gleaned if you have drone swarms that [5:25] are hovering over these critical military installations for up to four hours at a time? [5:31] Well, once again, it's a... [5:33] It's a... [5:34] It's an indication of serious concern, because it's one thing to observe. [5:39] It's another thing to turn that observation into the kind of lethal attacks that we saw [5:45] Ukraine execute against the Russians in some of their highly publicized activities where [5:55] they launched drones out of trucks and destroyed several Russian long-range bombers. [6:02] So, that, quite frankly, is... [6:03] It's a... [6:04] Quite frankly, is the area of concern. [6:07] And that's why I say we really need to increase our attention on taking action. [6:15] I would suggest that command and control is an extraordinarily piece or extraordinarily [6:21] important piece of this equation. [6:25] And that authority to engage drones indicating hostile intent needs to be distributed down [6:33] the lowest possible levels. And these were all issues that the military is addressing [6:40] and is facing, but we do need to turn up the emphasis and investment in this area. [6:46] AMNA NAWAZ General Dave Deptula, thank you for joining us. [6:49] DAVE DEPTULA My pleasure. 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