Langley Air Force Base is a U.S. Air Force installation in Hampton, Virginia, home to dozens of F-22 Raptor stealth fighters. Langley became the public flashpoint for the modern homeland C-sUAS problem after a 17-night drone swarm beginning Dec. 14, 2023 — F-22s were relocated to a nearby base during the incursions. The episode was first reported by the-war-zone and later dissected on national television by CBS 60 Minutes, with retired NORAD/NORTHCOM commander glen-vanherck and retired Gen. Mark Kelly describing drone sizes from commercial quadcopters up to “a bass boat or a small car.” Gen. gregory-guillot cited Langley as the centerpiece of his 90-day NORTHCOM assessment.
The identities of the Langley drone operators remain publicly unknown. The Biden White House framed the swarm as “likely hobbyists”; VanHerck publicly rejects that assessment and warns of a “foreign nexus.”