By Shirleen Guerra | The Center Square
(The Center Square) – A Virginia congressman is warning that the U.S. isn’t ready to handle growing drone threats—especially after drones flew freely over Joint Base Langley-Eustis in Hampton for nearly two weeks without being stopped.
That incident, which happened in December, was front and center at a congressional hearing Thursday as lawmakers raised concerns about national security gaps and how they could put Virginia’s military hubs at risk. U.S. Rep. Robert Wittman, R-Va., chairman of the Tactical Air and Land Forces Subcommittee, spoke with witnesses about the state of America’s unmanned aerial vehicle (UAS) and counter-UAS capabilities.
Officials said the Pentagon couldn’t respond fast enough, and the tools to track or stop enemy drones just aren’t there yet.
“As we have seen across the battlefield in Ukraine to the ongoing conflict in Israel, drones are redefining the character of warfare as we know it,” Wittman said.
He continued, “From small quadcopters conducting intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance to larger unmanned systems delivering kinetic strikes, these systems are helping modern militaries project power and close kill chains at a lower cost than ever before. The proliferation of this technology and the rapid pace of technological change provide great opportunities for our own military and industrial base.”
To close the gap, defense officials are turning to rapid innovation. The Defense Innovation Unit told lawmakers it’s spending $15 million this year to build and test low-cost drones that could help U.S. forces fight fire with fire.
DIU Director Doug Beck told lawmakers the military is learning from what’s playing out on today’s battlefields—like Ukraine and the Middle East—where fast-moving drone technology is already changing how wars are fought.
“We simply cannot do this without accelerating our ability to harness the power of our commercial technology sector and transforming the way we work with them to do so,” said Beck.
Beck said DIU is working with the Army to fast-track a drone program designed to protect forward-operating bases, which could be used at Virginia installations like Joint Base Langley-Eustis.
Lawmakers and defense officials also raised alarms about how much the U.S. relies on foreign-made drones—especially from China. Right now, Chinese companies control about 70% of the global commercial drone market, and officials warned that many of these systems are used by federal, state and local agencies across the U.S.
That dependence poses major risks, according to Wittman, who said it gives adversaries a foothold in U.S. surveillance and response systems. “Abroad, our service members are at risk of attack every day from one-way attack drones, like the 2024 Tower 22 attack in Jordan that left three servicemembers dead and over 40 injured.”
What happens next in Virginia may shape how the U.S. prepares for the next wave of drone warfare.
