Overview
- Barksdale officials issued a shelter-in-place order on March 9 after detecting an unmanned aircraft, and they later confirmed multiple unauthorized drones flew over the base during that week.
- A confidential March 15 briefing said swarms of about 12 to 15 drones flew in coordinated waves over sensitive areas for hours and used non-commercial signals with long-range control links that resisted jamming.
- The same document described lights and flight paths that appeared to test security responses, and Senator Bill Cassidy said the craft took evasive action to avoid being traced.
- Federal and local agencies are investigating, base leaders called the flights a criminal offense under federal law, and officials said they continue to monitor the airspace.
- Officials also reported recent incursions over Fort McNair in Washington, and coverage ranges from straight reports on the briefings to outside analysis that speculates on possible foreign makers without any U.S. attribution.