The Pentagon confirmed Tuesday that drones were spotted over Langley Air Force Base last year and the military is still assessing who was controlling the drones.
“Langley Air Force Base did experience incursions of unauthorized unmanned aerial systems (UAS) last year in December 2023,” said Sabrina Singh, Pentagon spokeswoman. “The number of those UAS incursions did fluctuate, but they didn't appear to exhibit any hostile intent. It's something that we have kept our eye on.”
Originally reported in The War Zone, the drones violated the base’s airspace for 17 days. They were sighted by several Air Force officials at the time.
The Wall Street Journal reports drones were also spotted flying over Naval Station Norfolk before going over the James River toward Hampton and Langley.
So far, the Department of Defense does not know the reason the unmanned systems were in the area, or if they were commercial, a hobbyist or part of a campaign to gather intelligence on bases in Hampton Roads.
The commander at Langley had the authority to shoot down unmanned vehicles if they are deemed to be a threat, Singh said.
“Given that it's on U.S. soil, there is another level of coordination that needs to take place, but the commander absolutely had his or her authorities to engage any systems that are a threat to the base,” she said.
Joint Base Langley-Eustis is home to one of the military’s most advanced fighters, the F-22 raptor.
In February 2023, a pilot from Langley shot down a Chinese surveillance balloon, which had drifted across the continental United States.
