Pentagon confirms mysterious drones flew above Langley Air Force Base several times last year

The Pentagon this week confirmed news reports of unidentified drones swarming the airspace at Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia, last year.

The Hampton base experienced incursions of unauthorized unmanned aerial systems in December, Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh told reporters Tuesday.

“The number of those UAS incursions did fluctuate on any given day, but they didn’t appear to exhibit any hostile intent,” Singh said during the news briefing. “It’s something that we have kept our eye on, but I just don’t have more to provide on that.”

Joint Base Langley-Eustis is home to the Air Force’s Air Combat Command.

The spokesperson’s comments came after previous reporting from The Wall Street Journal that detailed how, from Dec. 6-23, a fleet of up to a dozen drones swarmed the airspace above Langley and other Hampton locations such as Gosnold’s Hope Park, Buckroe Beach and Grandview Nature Preserve. According to the article, the drones also flew south across the Chesapeake Bay toward Norfolk.

When asked why the military didn’t shoot down the drones, Singh said the base commander had the authority to do so if they were a threat to the base.

“All I can tell you is that the Air Force base did experience a number of incursions and that we have been looking into it,” Singh said. “And if I have more to share, I certainly will.”

An F-22 stealth fighter from Langley’s 1st Fighter Wing shot down a suspected Chinese spy balloon in February 2023.

According to the Wall Street Journal article, drones have appeared over other military and other government sites in recent years. The military is seeking ways to counter the drones, with Langley seeking to install anti-drone netting around its stealth fighter planes, according to a report from The War Zone defense news outlet.

Spokespersons for Langley and Naval Station Norfolk did not immediately answer questions about the drones.

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