OPINION: The US government’s response to the many flight incursions has been underwhelming and confusing.
I recall being at my first airshow as a young defence and aviation professional.
The private jets and the military assets on display were awe-inspiring.
At the end of each event day, exhibitors exited the venue along a pre-determined route, guided by volunteer traffic wardens.
One evening, I noticed a United States Navy F/A-18F Super Hornet powering up.
The aircraft had performed at the airshow and been photographed many times that week, but I wanted a photo.
I took out my early-edition camera phone, put the car window down and took a photo.
At an airshow I presumed it was permitted.
The US military personnel alongside the aircraft came rushing over. They asked me to delete the photo immediately and show them I had done so.
Naturally, I complied with the request.
I remembered this recently, when reports of drone incursions on US military bases began to gain media attention.
Given my experience, and the assumption of US counter-drone and investigative capabilities, official responses to the drone incursions were underwhelming, leaving room for debate.
At issue are thousands of drone sightings above and around US military bases or sensitive locations, mostly in New Jersey, but also in several other locations, including at US sites in the United Kingdom.
Bases include Picatinny Arsenal, Naval Weapons Station Earle, and the Wright-Patterson Air Force base in Ohio that was forced to close airspace.
A White House spokesperson gave an update in December, saying the drones had not been identified, but were being taken seriously.
There was no basis for belief the drones were involved in criminal activity or posed any national security threat, the spokesperson said.
There was no perceived threat to public safety, and there was no malicious foreign actor involved.
Sightings continued, public attention grew and, as such reports increased, many of them were attributed to lawful, commercial manned aircraft, hobbyist or law enforcement drones, and even stars.
Then Donald Trump provided a commentary.
“The government knows what is happening … our military knows where they took off from … and where it went,” he said.
“And, for some reason, they don’t want to comment … they don’t want to tell the people, and they should.”
There are many concerns here. The first involves air space regulations and controls.
Uncontrolled or unreported entry into airspace puts people in the air and on the ground at extreme risk.
There is also the military risk.
Among thousands of reports, a mere 100 remained unattributed to some other benign error such as stars or manned aircraft, but the truth remains, the sightings were deemed sufficient in number by military personnel to warrant a reporting line being established, and formal press conferences convened.
Who is operating these drones? Why do they have an interest in the US military infrastructure?
Why can’t the US military or local law enforcement agencies intervene?
If it was a young man at an airshow, they can chase you down.
If it is a hobbyist with a drone, one would assume it is not much harder to track them down and resolve the issue.
Especially when the reported sightings involve clusters of drones at once.
References have been made to a limited counter-drone budget, but this is at odds with actual US contracts for counter-drone technology that is easily publicly available.
It all leads to a general sense of confusion not commonly attributed to the world’s leading military power.
In summary, we don’t know what they are, but they are not malicious, foreign or a threat.
We won’t shoot them, but we will close airspace and will involve the FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration. We also won’t prosecute anyone for unlawful operations of drones.
It is a perplexing story that at very least signals a need to evolve regulations and security with regards to the emergence of drones.
Perhaps it is the US testing new technology, but then why do so in such heavily populated locations, and why not communicate effectively with other agencies on the testing regime?
This story has many gaps, and I cannot shake the feeling that in time, they will reveal a much deeper story about the future of defence and surveillance.
• Kristian Constantinides is general manager of Airflite and was the 2023 recipient of the Minister’s Award for Services to Defence Industry. The opinions expressed are purely his own
