Foreigners flying drones over military sites raises spying concerns, expert says

Federal officials face a looming threat of foreign nationals utilizing drones to surveil United States military bases after two recent arrests and a string of mysterious incursions suggest the country’s airspace is ill-equipped to handle the rapidly evolving technology. 

In late 2024, the Department of Justice announced charges against Yinpiao Zhou, 39, for allegedly flying a drone over Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and taking photos of the facility. The Chinese-American citizen was detained as he attempted to board a China-bound flight and was charged with violation of national defense airspace and failure to register an aircraft. 

“Anyone operating a drone over a restricted space, like a military base, would be subject to prosecution,” Ken Gray, a former FBI agent and military analyst, told Fox News Digital. “A foreign national operating [a drone] raises a concern about that person being involved in some type of espionage or intelligence gathering.” 

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An affidavit revealed Vandenberg’s drone detection systems registered Zhou’s drone flying over its base on Nov. 30, 2024. When base authorities tracked the drone’s origin to a nearby park and confronted Zhou and a second individual, he allegedly attempted to conceal the drone in his jacket. 

Two months later, a Canadian tourist was arrested for allegedly flying a drone over a defense installation in Florida. 

Federal prosecutors allege Xiao Guang Pan, 71, used a drone to photograph sensitive defense installations at Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, according to the DOJ. Pan allegedly took photos of munitions bunkers, Space Launch complexes, a submarine wharf and payload processing facility as he flew his drone on three separate days in January. 

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“The response to [drones] is not standard,” Gray said. “Depending on the place the drone is spotted, their response could be anything from just making note of it to trying to detect where the drone is coming from, and the success of those types of responses has really varied drastically.”

A string of high-profile mysterious incidents thrust drones into the national spotlight as public speculation grew. 

In February, the highest-ranking general for all air defenses in North America took to Congress to sound the alarm over nefarious drones flying over the U.S., two months after a swarm of drones wreaked havoc over New Jersey’s skies for weeks.

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“The General’s comments provide further proof that the Biden national security team was dismissive and downplayed the risks presented by the mystery drones spotted all over New Jersey, especially those that flew over sensitive sites within my own district, such as Naval Weapons Station Earle,” said Rep. Chris Smith, R-N.J., in a press release. 

While the White House insists the drones seen across the Garden State were “authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons,” the revelation has done little to calm Americans’ unease.

Air Force Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, commander of NORTHCOM and NORAD, expressed concern over the influx of mysterious drones flying throughout American airspace, specifically over sensitive military sites. The four-star general cited widespread reports of drones infiltrating classified locations throughout the country in his attempt to turn up the heat on lawmakers’ response to the increased sightings. 

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“The primary threat I see for them in the way they’ve been operating is detection, and perhaps surveillance, of sensitive capabilities on our installations,” Guillot said in a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee. “There were 350 detections reported last year on military installations, and that was 350 over a total of 100 different installations of all types and levels of security.”

Last year, Virginia’s Langley Air Force base was defenseless as drones invaded the skies above for 17 nights, according to a report obtained by the Wall Street Journal.

Two months earlier, five mysterious drones invaded the skies over a government nuclear weapons experiment site in Nevada, stumping officials. 

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“Due to the use of drones in Ukraine, we see that drones pose a real risk of being used as a weapon system against targets,” Gray told Fox News Digital. “Even hobby-level drones can be modified to carry explosives or other types of dangerous substances that could be used to cause all kinds of problems for people on the ground.” 

Military officials are also faced with the increasingly hard task of determining where the drones are originating from. NORAD’s radar systems were developed during the Cold War, making them ill-equipped to detect and identify drones. 

“Radar coverage would not cover something as small as a drone operating at altitudes of less than a couple of hundred feet,” Gray said. “So the ability to see where [the drones] originate or where they are being recovered really depends upon either having an aerial asset that is tracking it, following from the air or teams on the ground that are operating to determine where the drone is being recovered.”

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Last month, Congress provided a number of federal agencies with the authority to counter credible threats from drones, citing concerns about threats posed to military personnel and defense installations, according to a report from the Congressional Research Service. 

The updated provision reveals the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) is “developing, acquiring, and fielding defensive counter-[drone] weapon systems, as in those systems that are able to locate, identify, track, and intercept adversary drones.”

In 2024, NORTHCOM was slated as the lead agency coordinating the DOD’s operations regarding counter-drone efforts. The DOD, along with the Departments of Homeland Security, Justice and Energy, have been authorized by Congress to evaluate and take steps to protect secure assets throughout the country, implementing the Joint Counter-Small UAS Office. 

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In a statement to Fox News Digital, the Federal Aviation Administration said the agency “has been testing drone detection and counter-drone technology at airports over the last few years to determine how well different technologies work to mitigate potential aviation safety risks posed by drones.” 

Gray wants government officials to provide transparency to American citizens while expanding their response to mysterious sightings. While the federal government works on getting its technology up to date, officials have a range of options to help deal with the problem.

“One of the best things [officials] can use against a drone is another drone,” Gray told Fox News Digital. “There are some small, very fast drones that can be operated that could be used to try to intercept and to disrupt the drone by just slamming into it. Shotguns are a last-ditch-effort type of old technology.” 

As consumer drones flood the markets, an increase in drone incursions can be expected, and officials are scrambling to get out ahead of the growing threat.

“We’re going to just see a proliferation of drones everywhere,” Gray said. “That includes the possibility of drones being used for nefarious purposes.” 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Pentagon.

Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace contributed to this report.