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Suspicious drones have been spotted flying high over the Arizona desert. Suspicious because they’re at altitudes above 6,000 feet and also because they’re in action near military bases. On “four separate occasions between January and May,” Air Force Fighter pilots almost had to take evasive action.
Drones at high altitude
According to federal authorities, Air Force Fighter pilots in F-16’s and F-35’s spotted drones four separate times. Surprisingly, they were “flying between 6,000 and 14,000 feet in the air.”
While most off-the-shelf civilian models can easily fly that high, they’re supposed to be operated below 400 feet. They’re also not supposed to be flying around military airfields.
While none of the incidents “resulted in the jets taking evasive action” it could have been serious. There are unconfirmed rumors floating around of a plane clipping a drone.
The situation “adds to a growing concern within Congress and the intelligence community.” They’re certain that “drones are being used for nefarious purposes.” The only question is the extent of the problem.
According to former Acting Assistant Secretary for Counterterrorism, Threat Prevention and Law Enforcement Policy Samantha Vinograd, “Nearly every day, transnational criminal gangs use drones to convey contraband across U.S. borders.” And fly it into prisons once in a while.
Vinograd testified to the Senate on the subject back in 2022. Over the summer, Customs and Border Protection released some incident reports that show unmanned aircraft “were used to smuggle drugs over the U.S.-Mexico border between 2020 and 2022.”
FAA not happy
The FAA is in charge of regulating everything in the sky, including drones. Hobbyists are required to stay below 400 feet. Only law enforcement and the military can go higher. The first incident happened January 31.
That’s when a “F35 pilot spotted a drone flying between 6,000 and 7,000 feet about 15 miles southwest of Luke Air Force Base.” That was probably a training mission, giving the student pilot some extra credit.
Next, on April 4, a drone was spotted by an F16 cruising along southeast of Tucson. That one was at an estimated 8,000 feet and well within reach of the border. Drones were again spotted on May 6 and May 29.
An A10 pilot spotted the first one at 14,400 feet northeast of Douglas. The second played chicken with an F16 a mere mile from “Tucson’s Davis Monthan Air Force Base.” That one was at 7,000 feet. Davis Monthan is where the big radar balloons are stationed which keep an eye on the border.
Allan Evans is a manufacturer of drone components. “They’re not being operated legally and you you’ve kind of got to ask yourself who might be doing this.” It’s no problem, he relates, to fly that high. “Even recreational drones can reach heights of thousands of feet.” There’s nothing built into the hardware or software to limit them to the legal range.
There is also supposed to be special identification features. They’re expensive and required by law. As one YouTuber points out, this proves those precautions are a useless waste of money. Despite the “remote ID,” the government has no idea who’s buzzing our sensitive Air Force bases. “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.“
