Bases plagued by mystery drones chose not to shoot them down, Pentagon reveals

Unknown devices hovered over Langley, Virginia for 17 days but commanders stayed hand

Commanders on a military base swarmed by mystery drones had the authority to shoot them down, but didn’t, the Pentagon has revealed.
Airspace over Langley Air Force base in Virginia was breached last December when the unmanned aerial vehicles were spotted overhead.
The flights lasted 17 days with the drones flying over the base for about an hour after sunset.
The unauthorised incursions have raised concerns over the base’s security despite attempts by US military officials to play down any threat.
Sabrina Singh, a Pentagon spokeswoman, said there were “interagency” questions as to why the drones were not shot down, despite base commanders having the authority to do so.
“Any commander of any base has the authority necessary to protect forces, to protect facilities, infrastructure, and capability there… I do know that with all of these incursions, given that it’s on US soil there is another level of coordination within the interagency that needs to take place. But the commander absolutely had his or her authorities to engage any systems that are a threat to the base,” she then told a press briefing.
Under federal law, the military is only allowed to shoot down drones over military bases if they pose a direct threat.
Even if they are suspected of spying, that does not necessarily mean commanders have permission to bring them down.
Members of Congress have called for extra powers to protect the US from hostile drones.
In February last year, China triggered a security alert after a suspected surveillance balloon was shot down by the US Air Force.
Experts at the time believed the balloon, which flew over a major US missile silo, was a show of force rather than a serious attempt to gather information.
“The number of UASs [uncrewed aerial systems] fluctuated and they ranged in size/configuration,” the US Air Force said of the latest activity.
“None of the incursions appeared to exhibit hostile intent but anything flying in our restricted airspace can pose a threat to flight safety. The FAA [Federal Aviation Administration] was made aware of the UAS incursions.”