Air Force General: Drones in US Airspace ‘Alarming’

The U.S. Northern Command’s top general on Thursday told lawmakers that incursions by unmanned aircraft systems on the southern border likely exceed 1,000 per month, which presents a “growing” potential threat to national security.

Pentagon commander Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing called the number of drone incursions “alarming.”

“The number of incursions was something that was alarming to me as I took command last month,” Guillot said in response to a question from Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C. “I don’t know the actual number — I don’t think anybody does — but it’s in the thousands.”

Asked if the incursions present a defense threat to the U.S., Guillot said he hasn’t seen any of the incursions “manifest in a threat to the level of national defense,” but he said he does “see the potential only growing.”

Committee members asked Guillot if the Department of Defense has a system in place to deal with unmanned aircraft systems incursions over U.S. military installations. 

“The services do have authorities, but work remains to be done to ensure that … we have standardized operating procedures to address those threats,” he said.