Drones Over B-52 Air Base
The attack on Barksdale is not an isolated incident.
By Laurence F. Sanford
Drone swarms shut down the B-2/B-52 bomber Barksdale airbase in Louisiana. Between March 9 and 15, multiple waves of 12 to 15 drones operated over restricted areas of the installation. The drones, or unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), displayed non-commercial signal characteristics, long-range control links, and resistance to jamming.
Barksdale plays a critical role in the command and control of the Air Force’s nuclear defense capabilities. It is the home of the Air Force Global Strike Command (AFGSC), which is responsible for all of America’s intercontinental ballistic missiles and nuclear bombers.
The drone flights lasted around four hours each day and came in waves, entering and exiting the base in a way that suggests trying to avoid the operator’s location. The drones may have been testing security responses within restricted airspace.
Two golf courses flanking Barksdale, to the north and south, are owned by a Chinese intelligence official. Two miles to the north of Barksdale is The Golf Club at Stonebridge, and two miles to the south is Olde Oaks Golf Club. Since 2013, both courses have been owned by Eugene Ji, a Chinese-American businessman who has held multiple positions in the Chinese Communist Party (CCP), including the United Front Work Department (UFWD), an arm of the CCP’s influence and intelligence agency. The golf courses had been previously owned by the Municipal Police Employees Retirement System and were losing money. Ji bought them for $3 million.
Where did the drones come and go from? Could they have come from the golf courses? Trucks could easily transport the drones, unload the drones, and then hide them in more secure areas, such as storage lockers away from the base. And who were operating the drones? Possibly some of the 100,000 Chinese nationals, men of military age and fitness, who entered the U.S. via the Darian Gap in Panama under Biden’s open-border policies.
Why couldn’t Barksdale security shoot down the drones with shotguns or sniper rifles, as do the Ukrainians against Russian drones made with Chinese parts? Why couldn’t forces be deployed to track the drones? The Air Force had four days to get its act together.
The drone attacks coincided with and interfered with the beginning of Operation Epic Fury against Iran. A “shelter-in-place” order was implemented. For the first time in American history, an Air Force base was shut down due to enemy air activity. The drones that operated over Barksdale were far more sophisticated than those seen in Ukraine.
The attack on Barksdale is not an isolated incident. Other drone attacks include:
- Langley AFB in Hampton, Virginia. F-22 stealth jets had to be relocated.
- Edwards AFB in Palmdale, California. Home to Skunk Works and other classified engineering projects.
- Fort Leslie J. McNair in Washington, DC, where Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth live.
Whiteman Air Force Base in Missouri, home of B-2 bombers used over Iran, borders a trailer park owned by a Chinese national with CCP intelligence links.
Summary
The CCP is waging unrestricted, smokeless warfare against the United States. The war involves the fusion of all Chinese political, military, and civilian organizations to take down the United States.
The warfare includes:
- Theft — Billions of dollars’ worth of intellectual products, including military and industrial assets.
- Crime — Money laundering, criminal syndicates, and counterfeit goods.
- Chemical warfare — Fentanyl.
- Biological warfare — the Wuhan Virus (COVID).
- Corruption — Political, industrial, and academic leaders.
- Drones — Intrusions on U.S. military bases and installations?
- Animal extinction.
- Religious and political persecution.
A slap on the wrist is the normal punishment for Chinese nationals caught and found guilty of security violations. The vast majority of incidents are never prosecuted.
Action
- Recognize that the CCP is waging a smokeless war and act accordingly.
- Educate and engage fellow Americans and leaders on CCP actions. Communism is like a mushroom — it grows in dark, dank, and dirty places and feeds off decaying matter. It is a fungus. Rather than curse the darkness of communist grievances, light one candle and let the light shine. Like the mushroom, light will cause communism to shrivel and disappear.
- Contact elected government officials to develop a coherent strategy among federal agencies in countering drone attacks. Not only are drones a threat to military installations, but they are also a threat to civilian industries and sporting/entertainment facilities.
Peace Through Strength!
Laurence F. Sanford is a senior analyst at the American Security Council Foundation.
