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60 Minutes: Drone Swarms Over U.S. National Security Sites

3 min read

Summary

CBS 60 Minutes correspondent Bill Whitaker investigates the 17-night December 2023 drone swarm over Langley Air Force Base and a multi-year pattern of unexplained sUAS activity over U.S. military and civilian critical infrastructure. The report features eyewitness Jonathan Butner, retired Gen. Mark Kelly (senior Langley witness), retired Gen. glen-vanherck (then NORAD/NORTHCOM commander), current commander Gen. gregory-guillot, and Sen. roger-wicker (chair, Senate Armed Services). Guillot confirms NORAD’s Cold War-era radars cannot reliably detect low-flying drones, announces new radar installations and flyaway kits, and says the threat “got ahead of our ability to detect.” The source catalogs prior incidents at the Palo Verde nuclear plant (2019), a Southern California stealth-bomber weapons site (2024), Picatinny Arsenal (Dec 2024), and a U.K. base where U.S. nuclear weapons were stored. VanHerck rejects the “hobbyist” explanation and warns of a “foreign nexus.”

Key Claims

  • Drones flew over Langley AFB for 17 nights starting Dec. 14, 2023; F-22s were relocated for protection.
  • Drones ranged from commercial quadcopters to objects “the size of a bass boat or a small car” (Kelly).
  • NORAD radars, designed for high-altitude Cold War threats, cannot detect low-flying drones (VanHerck, Guillot).
  • Biden White House framed Langley as “likely hobbyists”; VanHerck publicly rejects that assessment.
  • Sen. Wicker says Pentagon and national security advisors remain “mystified” despite classified briefings.
  • Prior unexplained incidents: 2019 U.S. Navy warships shadowed for weeks off California; 2019 Palo Verde nuclear plant; 2024 SoCal stealth-bomber site; Dec 2024 Picatinny Arsenal (11 confirmed sightings).
  • Simultaneous Dec 2024 drone swarm disrupted a U.S. nuclear-weapons-storage air base in the U.K.
  • Guillot received coordinating authority in Nov 2024 to cut interagency red tape (Coast Guard, FAA, FBI, local police).
  • NORTHCOM fielding new radar and flyaway kits; Guillot’s goal is FAK capability within one year.

Notable Quotes

“I probably saw upwards of 40 plus… Those are going directly over Langley Air Force Base.” — Jonathan Butner

“The smallest, you know you’re talking about a commercial-size quadcopter. And then the largest ones are probably size what I would call a bass boat or a small car.” — Gen. Mark Kelly (ret.)

“It certainly could have a foreign nexus, a threat nexus… surveilling critical infrastructure, just to the point of embarrassing us.” — Gen. Glen VanHerck (ret.)

“The threat got ahead of our ability to detect and track the threat… all eyes were, rightfully, overseas.” — Gen. Gregory Guillot

“Our hair is on fire here in NORTHCOM, in a controlled way.” — Gen. Gregory Guillot

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