Mystery drones flew over Langley for 17 days, Pentagon confirms

The Pentagon is investigating after mysterious drones violated Langley airspace in Hampton.

According to a new Wall Street Journal report, U.S. military personnel noticed drones flying over restricted airspace for seventeen straight days in December.

• Langley is one of the few bases that house F-22 Raptors – advanced, fifth-generation stealth fighter jets used to defend the United States at home.

The Defense Department is now confirming the recent presence of the drones.

• “Langley Air Force Base did experience incursions of unauthorized, unmanned aerial systems,” Sabrina Singh, Defense Department Deputy Press Secretary, said during a news conference at the Pentagon on Tuesday. “With all these incursions, given that it is on U.S. soil, there is another level of coordination… that needs to take place.”

• Singh added that it was not clear where the drones were launched from or if they were tied to a foreign government or adversary.

The drones reportedly appeared about an hour after sunset every night between Dec. 6 – 23, 2023.

U.S. Air Force Gen. Mark Kelly described one of the drones as being nearly 20 feet long, flying at over 100 miles an hour at an altitude of up to 4,000 feet. Up to a dozen or more drones followed behind.

• “Some shone small lights, making them look like a constellation moving in the night sky – or a science-fiction movie,” Kelly said.

• The drones ultimately flew over the Chesapeake Bay toward Norfolk, Virginia, the home of the largest naval complex in the world.

Efforts to ramp up security measures at Joint Base Langley-Eustis now appear to be in the works.

• According to The War Zone, officials at Joint Base Langley-Eustis requested information on Oct. 4 about possibly installing counter-drone netting in some secure areas of the base.

• “The intention of the netting is to deter and ultimately prevent the intrusion of UAS’s near airmen and aircraft,” a request issued by officials at the base states.