Some of these mysterious ‘drones’ are indeed UFOs and should be taken seriously

This article originally appeared in The Hill - click to watch the video associated with this article.

By Marik von Rennenkampff, opinion contributor

Not only can the objects involved in these incursions evade detection and sophisticated countermeasures, they also demonstrate an array of extraordinary flight characteristics.

To be sure, some recent drone incidents are likely espionage or intimidation operations. But until conventional drone technology is conclusively linked to the most brazen incursions, these craft must be considered UFOs — or, as Congress and the government now prefer, “unidentified anomalous phenomena.”

The UFO designation is particularly appropriate considering that several well-documented and equally perplexing incidents over sensitive nuclear facilities in the 1940s, 1950s, 1960s and 1970s bear a remarkable resemblance to the recent incidents.

For 17 nights in late 2023, for example, between one and two dozen brightly-lit objects flew at any one time over Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. Beyond forcing the cancellation of nighttime training missions and the transfer of highly advanced fighter jets to another base, the incidents left the military so perplexed that it tasked a special NASA aircraft equipped with sophisticated cameras to investigate the objects.

Somehow, despite nightly incursions stretching over weeks, no verified imagery of the “drones” has emerged beyond a video showing numerous blinking lights in the sky. According to Glen VanHerck, the recently retired commander of North American Aerospace Defense Command, “our most advanced” aircraft attempted to identify the objects with “extremely limited results.”

Senate Intelligence Committee Vice Chairman Mark Warner (D-Va.) and Sen. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) expressed “disappointment” and “shock,” respectively, at the lack of answers regarding the incidents following a year of investigation.

Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), a key member of both the intelligence and armed services committees, stated that the government does not know “what technology [the objects] are using.” According to Gillibrand, the craft in the Langley incursions involved a “type of technology that our radar did not detect them arriving.” Moreover, government documents indicate that all counter-drone technology deployed against the objects “failed.”

Gen. Mark Kelly, a decorated Air Force pilot and the commander of Air Combat Command, observed the incursions personally, likening the brightly illuminated objects moving across the night sky to a science fiction film: “Close Encounters at Langley.”

Would an adversary expose its ultra-stealthy technology so dramatically and consistently in full view of the U.S. military? If so, to what end?

What kind of craft, despite displaying bright flashing lights and flying in formation, can operate with complete impunity — avoiding radar and visual detection while resisting counter-drone technology — above a key military base?