By Laurence F. Sanford

Why doesn’t the federal government explain in clear, concise language the who, what, why, and where of the drones flying over military bases and New Jersey? Why aren’t the drones flying over American military bases shot down?

President-elect Donald Trump is also asking the same questions. Apparently, the intelligence community briefs to him on national security matters do not cover the subject.

Technically, a drone is a vehicle that can travel autonomously on land, air, or sea. What is causing public outcry in New Jersey and elsewhere are UAVs, or Unmanned Aerial Vehicles. All UAVs are drones, but not all drones are UAVs. The Ukrainians have had great success with sea drone attacks on Russian ships. Mobile land robots are drones.

Vandenberg Space Force Base in California’s detection systems noticed a UVA breach its air space. They traced it to a public park one hour away, where federal investigators found Yinpiao Zhou, a Chinese national and U.S. resident. He had a drone in his possession with photographs of the base. Zhou was later arrested as he attempted to board a China-bound flight from San Francisco. He was charged with violating the national defense airspace, subject to up to four years in prison. Federal magistrate judge Sallie Kim moved to release Zhou from jail on personal recognizance. Federal authorities appealed the ruling and Zhou remains in jail.

UAVs can be described as:

• Multirotor — A small type civilian hobbyists and businesses use for surveys, agriculture, and miscellaneous tasks. China’s DJI dominates the world consumer market, with sales in the U.S. of $6 billion annually. The U.S. Congress is considering banning DJI due to security considerations, as the drones’ cameras and tracking devices are connected to the internet, which is connected to China.
• Fixed wing — Small engine-driven airplanes with no pilot. The Turkish company Baykar claims 65% of the world’s fixed-wing UAVs are from Turkey. They were used with great success in the Armenia-Azerbaijan War and are used in the Russia-Ukraine War.

UAS, or Unmanned Aerial System, is equipment supporting the function of UAV drones, including cameras, GPS, software, and remote controls. All drone systems have similar supporting equipment with internet connectivity; therefore, the drone data collected can be sent to China or other hostile governments or organizations.

Other questions about drones flying over America that the government is not explaining:

• Who is controlling the drones?
• What are the types of drones?
• Why can’t the drones be identified?
• Where are the drones flying from and to?

Conspiracy theories abound about the sightings:

• U.S. government-controlled drones searching for missing radioactive materials.
• Foreign entities collecting data on military and critical civilian infrastructure.
• Civilian hobbyists playing games.
• People’s misconceptions.

It is inconceivable that the supposedly mightiest military in the world did not identify drones flying over the nation’s largest military complex in Norfolk, Virginia, for 17 days and did not shoot down even one drone. If Vandenberg SFB can track the UAVs, why couldn’t Langley AF base in Virginia do the same?

But then, the federal government allowed a Chinese Communist Party (CCP) spy balloon to float across America for days, gathering intelligence over military bases before shooting it down over the ocean off South Carolina. The balloon was first spotted in Alaska.

Ukraine has developed a low-cost system for detecting and shooting down drones. Dubbed “Sky Fortress,” the system was developed by two engineers in a garage. Ukraine has a network of almost 10,000 acoustic sensors scattered around the country that locate Russian drones and send targeting information to soldiers in the field, who then gun them down. The total system cost is less than two U.S.-made Patriot missiles.

The FAA in 2025 will require each drone that flies to have some sort of remote identification kit to allow tracking and owner identification. This will identify lawful users, but what about users with malicious intent who turn off the remote identification?

Summary

The credibility of the U.S. federal government with American citizens is justifiably low. The public has been duped/misinformed for years by government spokespeople, aided and abetted by the mainstream media serving as its propaganda arm. Examples of misinformation include Russiagate, the Wuhan virus (COVID-19), Afghanistan, climate change as an existential threat, a secure border, Hunter Biden’s laptop, lawfare against conservatives, and President Joe Biden’s physical infirmity.

China is probably not actively controlling the current wave of UAV flights. Why risk exposure when they have space satellites and cyberwarfare capabilities? Why would the UAVs’ lights be on so they can be spotted? Perhaps the large number sighted in New Jersey could be due to the large number of “wise guys” living in the state toying with authorities.

The purpose of the Defense Department, Homeland Security, and FBI are to protect American citizens. They should be honest with the people and answer questions honestly. If California can track a UAV, why can’t other states do so? If the UAVs are not a danger, how do they know?

Action

• Ban Chinese-made or -affiliated drones in the U.S. Every Chinese-made drone has the potential to send surveillance data back to China.
• Increase American drone capabilities, both offensively and defensively.
• Demand government accountability.

Laurence F. Sanford is a senior analyst at the American Security Council Foundation.