Security concerns raised as fighter pilots spot drones above Arizona desert
Congress working to protect sensitive locations from drone surveillance and threats
PHOENIX (AZFamily) — On five separate occasions between January and the beginning of September, U.S. Air Force Fighter pilots spotted unmanned drones flying between 6,000 and 14,000 feet in the air.
All of the incidents occurred over the Arizona desert. In four of the incidents, the fighter jets did not have to take evasive action. But in the most recent incident, an F35 Lightning II was forced to “descend rapidly to avoid the UAS,” according to the most recent FAA drone incursion database.
This adds to a growing concern within Congress and the intelligence community that drones are being used for nefarious purposes.
“Nearly every day, transnational criminal gangs use drones to convey contraband across U.S. borders,” said Samantha Vinograd, a former Acting Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism, Threat Prevention and Law Enforcement Policy, in a 2022 testimony to a U.S. Senate Subcommittee.
This summer, U.S. Customs and Border Protection released incident reports that show drones used to smuggle drugs over the U.S.-Mexico border between 2020 and 2022.
The drones that the fighter pilots encountered were flying thousands of feet in the sky.
- On January 31, an F35 pilot spotted a drone flying between 6,000 and 7,000 feet about 15 miles southwest of Luke Air Force Base.
- On April 4, an F16 flying southeast of Tucson spotted a drone flying at 8,000 feet.
- On May 6, an A10 pilot spotted a drone at 14,400 feet northeast of Douglas.
- On May 29, an F16 pilot spotted a drone one mile from Tucson’s Davis Monthan Air Force Base, flying at 7,000 feet.
- On September 3, the F35 pilot was forced to take evasive action to avoid the drone in the desert north of Gila Bend. That drone was flying at 5,300 feet.
The Federal Aviation Administration limits recreational drones to 400 feet in the air.
“They’re not being operated legally. And you you’ve kind of got to ask yourself who might be doing this,” said Allan Evans, the CEO of Unusual Machines, which builds drone components in the United States.
Evans says even recreational drones can reach heights of thousands of feet.
Earlier this year, Arizona’s Family Investigates reported on drone sightings over sensitive military locations in Arizona. Congress has held hearings on those and similar reports from other parts of the country. Intelligence officials have stated that some of the drones could be surveillance.
Evans says the drone industry is expanding in use and usefulness, and he believes the FAA is taking the appropriate measures to ensure that the actions of bad actors don’t interfere with the positive aspects of the drone industry.
“There are multiple companies that are now cleaning skyscrapers with drones instead of having people go up and down the ladders. Cell phone tower companies use them to do inspection very quickly,” said Evans.
“You know, you see hurricanes that come and hit, and for damage assessment and search and rescue these go out there. There’s so many amazing use cases that most people haven’t heard of that absolutely already exist that just change outcomes for people. It’s actually very exciting,” he explained.
Over the past week, drones have been spotted flying over four bases used by the US Air Force in Britain, causing US and British forces to take measures to safeguard those bases. Military officials say they do not know who is behind the incursions.
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