The Defense Department is taking all reports of drones seriously and working with the White House, the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Aviation Administration to examine the sightings and assess the situation, Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said today.
It is a big job.
“Just to kind of put this into context, … [there are] over a million drones registered in the United States, and on any day, approximately 8,500 drones are in flight,” Ryder said at a news conference. “The vast majority of these drones are going to probably be recreational or hobbyist. They’re going to be commercial drones used in things like architecture, engineering, farming or they could be used for law enforcement.”
It is possible some of the drones could be up to malign activities, “but for the vast majority that is not the case,” he said.
Drones flying near or over U.S. military installations is not something new, the general said. “We take all of those [reports] seriously,” he said. “Typically, when we detect them, we attempt to classify them and take appropriate measures. Is it possible that some of those are surveillance? Absolutely. Can you make that assumption in every case? Not necessarily so.”
Local installation commanders have the authorities to respond appropriately and will continue to do so.
DOD is sending additional resources to Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Weapons Station Earle — both in New Jersey — to better enable the installations to detect, track and monitor drone activity, Ryder said. Commanders can use the recently released counter unmanned systems strategy to craft their responses to any incursions.
The recent strategy looks at the priority installations and what the department needs to do to address the issue — particularly when the systems pose a threat to personnel or security. “The thing is, I think we’ve all recognized the fact that unmanned systems are here to stay,” Ryder said. “They are a part of modern warfare, whether it’s here in the homeland or overseas. We want to make sure that we’re doing due diligence to protect our forces and protect our equities from a national security standpoint. You will see us continuing to look at that, and it’s something we’re going to continue to take seriously.”
DOD is also taking the situation in Syria seriously and still concentrating on the Defeat-ISIS mission in the country. The overthrow of the Assad regime opened up areas where ISIS was sheltering and those have become targets. “We all have a vested interest in ensuring that groups in the region capitalize on the situation there, to enable the people of Syria to be able to have a better life than they did under the Assad regime,” Ryder said.
Even with the confusion in Syria, the mission against ISIS continues, “as evidenced by the counter ISIS strike, we took a couple days ago,” Ryder said. “[U.S. forces] are able to conduct their mission. And, as it has always been, force protection remains a top priority for our forces.”
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