Unauthorized drone flights pose rising threat to U.S. bases, border, civilian events, senator warns

Source: CBS News

November 13, 2025 / 6:40 PM EST


Unauthorized drone flights over U.S. military installations, border facilities and mass public events are climbing to unprecedented levels, prompting warnings from top lawmakers that the country faces an escalating aerial security risk while it remains hamstrung by a patchwork of airspace protection capabilities.

Senate Intelligence Committee chairman Tom Cotton, a Republican from Arkansas, said in an interview with CBS News this week that the threat to military sites and large civilian gatherings is "severe and growing". He cited evidence of persistent drone incursions and gaps in law enforcement authorities, many of which lapsed for weeks during the record-long government shutdown.

There were more than 350 unauthorized drone flights over about 100 military installations in 2024, according to the Defense Department, and government data shows there were more than 27,000 drones detected within 500 meters of the U.S. southern border in the last half of that year.

And while the number of stadium incursions waned slightly last year, the overall trend is continuing to move upward, according to NFL data, with drone incursions almost doubling, from 1,300 to 2,300, between 2021 and 2024.

Read more: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/unauthorized-drone-flights-rising-threat-u-s-bases-border-events-tom-cotton/