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When China’s sophisticated reconnaissance balloons flew over the United States in early 2023, lawmakers and the public were outraged by the Biden-Harris administration’s reluctance and initial tendency to remain silent, but two private photographers insisted I recognized the balloon for the first time when I pressed my hand on it.
Now, the Wall Street Journal is breaking news of yet another astonishing US national security breach, with drones flying over a sensitive nuclear weapons testing facility for three days last October and two months later. It later reported that it had flown over Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. Protests continued for the 17th straight night while President Biden and military personnel promoted by his administration hung around and debated how to respond.
The swarm began on December 7, 2023. Unmanned aircraft, some up to 20 feet long, flew over the Air Combat Command headquarters at night with a squadron of state-of-the-art F-22 Raptor fighter jets.
Blame shifting and responsibility avoidance reveal dangerous patterns of hesitation and risk-averse decision-making.
As reported almost daily in Ukraine and Russia, these drones may have destroyed years’ worth of fighter jet production. The drones also approached other major national security facilities, including the world’s largest military port in Norfolk and the base of Navy SEAL Team 6.
Unidentified drone squad invades US military base airspace in Virginia for 17 consecutive days: Report
However, instead of taking action against the drone that had violated U.S. military airspace, the military-civilian chain of command remained indecisive.
Base commanders have the authority to intercept or destroy drones based on Department of Defense directives and classified rules of engagement, and can act quickly without the need for outside agency approval in the event of an imminent threat. The commander has been given the necessary authority to do so.
Instead, in a zero-flaw, zero-risk bureaucracy that many of our military leaders have entrenched, drone swarms were reported to the National Military Command Center. A report was then sent to the White House Situation Room. President Biden asked about this during his daily briefing. This most likely happened by Friday, December 8th. The drone operated unhindered for another 15 nights, then stopped.
But instead of ordering the military to protect sensitive airspace and use the powers it already has, Homeland Security chief of staff Elizabeth Sherwood-Randall convened a brainstorming session at the White House. All proposals for the use of sabotage, directed energy weapons, and nets were rejected as either too risky or not an authorized use of force.
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An October 12 Wall Street Journal article exposing the drone debacle offered an excuse for inaction: “Federal law prohibits the military from flying unmanned vehicles near U.S. military bases unless they pose an imminent threat. Shooting down a plane is prohibited. Peeking at it from the air is not a qualification.” However, some lawmakers want to give the military greater freedom. ”
However, the law cited, the Prevention of Emerging Threats Act of 2018, does not apply to military bases. And certainly no military commander would look outside the chain of command to seek approval from the Secretary of Homeland Security, the Attorney General, and the Secretary of Transportation. Pete Buttigieg’s FAA.
Blame shifting and responsibility avoidance reveal dangerous patterns of hesitation and risk-averse decision-making. the military must be expected to protect its facilities On American soil. Americans expect military leaders to have a warrior mindset, not a bureaucratic mindset.
This inaction stands in sharp contrast to historical examples of decisive military responses. For example, when the commander of the destroyer USS Ward, operating out of Pearl Harbor in the early morning hours of December 7, 1941, spotted a Japanese midget submarine approaching a naval base, he did not hesitate. It was.
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Ward opened fire on the Japanese submarine, dropping depth charges and sinking it an hour before the Japanese surprise attack on Pearl Harbor. (The Ward was sunk by Japanese kamikaze troops exactly three years later.) This pre-emptive strike reflected a different military ethos. Today, such an action would be met with endless White House meetings and debates over legal authority. Do whatever you want about it.
Repeated drone incidents in Langley show the military is becoming increasingly embroiled in bureaucratic vigilance. Despite its overwhelming technological superiority, the military’s reluctance is indicative of a deeper problem: a culture in which making the “wrong” decisions is worse than inaction.
A “zero-defect mentality” is hampering the initiative, with leaders fearing the carrier consequences of engaging targets over restricted airspace that may prove to be non-hostile.
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The paralysis of the military’s response represents a failure to adapt to evolving aviation threats, and deeper cultural problems, as swarms of drones can cause devastating damage to aircraft, infrastructure, and personnel within minutes. represents.
If former President Trump returns to office in January, one of his top priorities will be clearing up confusion about the military’s ability to protect America’s airspace and respond to threats. And senior officers who are unwilling or unable to take such action will be replaced with those who will take immediate and deliberate action.
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