WASHINGTON, April 29 (UPI) — The House Military and Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Tuesday questioned Department of Defense officials about an increase in unauthorized drone activity over military bases and criminal cartels’ drone usage at the southern border.
Lawmakers said they want a comprehensive bill to enhance technology to “defeat adversaries” after a slew of drone sightings by “transnational criminal organizations” were reported last year.
“It’s only a matter of time until we have our next 9/11 terrorist attack,” Rep. John McGuire, R-Va., said at the hearing. “The problem is bureaucracy prevents action, but this time, we know about it, and we can fix it.”
The DOD detected 350 drones over 100 military sites last year, according to testimony at the hearing. U.S. Navy Rear Admiral Paul Spedero Jr., one of the two officials testifying, said he would not reveal in an unclassified setting how that compares to previous years.
“It has grown, though,” he said.
Committee members blamed “bad actors,” such as the Chinese Communist Party, Iranians and south-of-the-border criminal cartels, for the increased activity over military installations.
“We had open borders for the last four years, so the terrorist activity that’s now in our country, bad actors from other states that don’t have the best interest of our country,” Rep. Michael Cloud, R-Texas, said. “What can we do to speed up this process so that it’s handled with urgency?”
Since 2023, two Chinese nationals have been arrested for illegally flying drones to surveil military sites, the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform said in a news release.
Defense officials said many bases lack the capability to efficiently detect drones or defeat them.
“In general, the technology to field systems has far outpaced the technology to defeat those systems,” Spedero said, calling the Defense Department’s capabilities “not comprehensive,” “not efficient” and “var[ying] base to base.”
Lawmakers and the two men testifying pointed to unclear rules and oversight by too many agencies.
The DOD, Federal Aviation Administration, Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security oversee some parts of these sightings.
“These incursions happened while the Biden administration sat on their hands, allowing bureaucracy and interagency dysfunction to run the show,” said Rep. Anna Paulina Luna, R-Fla., an Air Force veteran, Trump supporter and onetime Freedom Caucus member.
As lawmakers looked for answers, defense officials asked for funding and clear guidance on who has the authority to take down drones.
Although no official action was voted upon, Cloud suggested a possible solution. He recommended changing the drone regulatory language from “aircraft’ to “manned aircraft,” which would allow for more military authority to shoot down the drones.
The committee has five legislative days to submit any additional questions.