Drones over Langley, what's going on?

[3rd_gear_Ted]

Who, Why & What happens next?

How to manage the drone threat going forward?

https://legalinsurrection.com/2024/10/drones-of-unknown-origin-flies-over-u-s-military-base-for-17-days/

[A930Rocket]

Interesting. How has this not been in the news for the past year?

[Bill Douglas]

Sounds a bit fake to me. Any drone in this area would be shot down and analysed for clues.

[A930Rocket]

A Google search has reputable (?) media reporting on it.

https://www.google.com/search?q=Drones+over+Langley&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&hl=en-us&client=safari

[GH85Carrera]

The FAA and only the FAA have control of the skies. All airports are off limits to drones, unless the licensed operator has filed the paperwork and received permission.

We fly airports all the time with our airplane, and even military bases, but we have a human pilot in the airplane talking to the control tower.

Area 51 has a permanent flight restriction, like all of Washington DC. Over F.t Sill, OK they have live artillery fire so no one will fly over without permission. If the range is cold, we have flown over.

Langley AFB, and all military bases are watched by satellites from Russia and China. We have flown and photographed several military bases. It is no big deal.

I suspect the folks at Langley know who is flying over. I hope so anyway.

[stealthn]

Yeah I call BS, if it really happened they would be launching everything they had to capture them find the source.

[pwd72s]

Originally Posted by Bill Douglas

Sounds a bit fake to me. Any drone in this area would be shot down and analysed for clues.

Yeah, same with a spy balloon, right?

[KNS]

Not a BS story. Law enforcement in the area tried to capture some of the drones without success. It can only point to either the Russians, Chinese or possibly N Korea.

https://www.twz.com/air/mysterious-drones-swarmed-langley-afb-for-weeks

There have also been drones sighted by military pilots over MOAs (Military Operations Areas) in Arizona at very high altitudes.

https://www.twz.com/pilots-are-seeing-some-very-strange-things-in-arizonas-military-training-ranges

Drones have also been spotted flying over Lockheed's Plant 42 in Palmdale (Skunkworks). This is restricted airspace.

Very easy to shut down operations at an air force base - you fly a mess of drones at either end of the runways and no aircraft will be taking off. You effectively paralyze the base.

[greglepore]

Pretty clear we need to change the shoot down law. We took out whole swarms over Israel, we have the capability, just not legal authority.

[David Inc.]

Originally Posted by greglepore

Pretty clear we need to change the shoot down law. We took out whole swarms over Israel, we have the capability, just not legal authority.

Anything you shoot down has to land somewhere. And where does it land?

"Sorry about your family, there was a suspicious drone" won't play so well in the media.

[Rusty Heap]

When the Germans send their Spy Balloon during Octoberfest.........

[KNS]

Illegal drone activity is far more widespread than most people realize.

I work for the FAA and am a commercial pilot. Our office has received hundreds of reports of illegal drone activity (suspected and actual). The majority of them are impossible to trace back to the drone or drone operator.

There is a requirement to register your drone (if over 250 grams in weight). Guess what - lots of people never register their drone, either due to ignorance of the regulation or they choose not to. The hardest part is locating the operator, they may be miles away from the actual flight of the illegal drone. Then there are the bad actors who are purposely skirting the rules for their reasons.

We had a recent report of a SkyWest flight and an American airlines flight that both reported a drone the size of a basketball several miles east of Denver International right in their departure path at 13,000 ft(!). Air Traffic Control diverted following traffic and it was reported to law enforcement. These kinds of reports are not uncommon. You know what's out east of Denver International? Rural nothingness, farmland. Law enforcement found nothing. Whomever it was was either long gone or in a completely different area when they launched and retrieved their drone.

What's happening at Langley AFB and other military installations are not enthusiast drone pilots or folks messing around. I've read of reports of drones flying right past the guard shack at an air force base and out on to the flight line and then leave a little while later. All base security can do is watch.

[Seahawk]

Airborne IED's, Folks.

[herr_oberst]

Originally Posted by Seahawk

Airborne IED's, Folks.

The idea of stadium drone shows makes me nervous for just this reason. Anyone remember the movie Black Sunday? Imagine 10,000 drones each assigned to take out a single stadium seat with pinpoint accuracy unless the bad guys have their demands met.

[3rd_gear_Ted]

Originally Posted by greglepore

Pretty clear we need to change the shoot down law. We took out whole swarms over Israel, we have the capability, just not legal authority.

Name the specific weapon system that did this?

We do not have the capability to deal with drone swarms guided by AI that can evade and strike .
Drones being mated with IED's is the next iteration in neutering modern warfare tactics.
A-Stan all over again.