Pentagon announces new anti-drone strategy as unmanned attacks on US interests soar

The Pentagon has unveiled a new strategy to combat drones after a series of incursions near US bases raised concerns that there was no action plan to address the growing threat from unmanned aerial vehicles.

Although much of the strategy remains classified, Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin will establish a new counter-drone office within the Pentagon – the Joint Counter-Small UAS Office – and a new group of senior integration of war fighters, according to a new memo.

The Pentagon will also begin work on a second Replicator initiative, but it will be up to the incoming Trump administration to decide whether to fund that plan. The first Replicator initiative aimed to deploy inexpensive and unnecessary drones to thwart drone attacks by adversary groups across the Middle East and elsewhere.

The memo warns that increased use of unmanned systems must reshape U.S. tactics because they allow adversaries to “more easily monitor, disrupt, and attack our forces…potentially without attribution.”

A drone is launched during a military exercise at an undisclosed location in Iran. (/Document via REUTERS ATTENTION EDITORS – THIS PHOTO WAS PROVIDED BY A THIRD PARTY)

US FOOD UP AS DRONES SHAPE WAR LANDSCAPE: “THE FUTURE IS HERE”

The plan outlines a five-pronged approach: deepen understanding of enemy drones, launch offensive campaigns to thwart their ability to build such systems, improve “active and passive” defenses against such attacks, rapidly increase production of anti-aircraft systems -drones and make counterattacks. -drones constitute an absolute priority for the future development of forces.

Over the past year, Iran-backed Houthi rebels have used small, one-way unmanned aerial systems to strike the western Red Sea shipping routes.

That has led to perilous waters along a trade route that typically sees some $1 trillion in goods transit, as well as aid shipments to war-torn Sudan and the Yemeni people.

Some experts have deemed the U.S. response insufficient to deter the Houthis from inflicting billions of dollars in damage to the global economy.

Moreover, the cost of the US response to such attacks is disproportionate. While Houthi drones cost around $2,000 each, the naval missiles that the United States fires back can cost around $2 million per shot.

In September, the Houthis destroyed two American Reaper drones in a week, machines that cost around $30 million each.

Deadly drone strikes have also been launched by both sides in Russia's war against Ukraine.

“Unmanned systems pose both an urgent and enduring threat to U.S. personnel, installations and assets abroad,” the Pentagon said in a statement announcing the strategy on Thursday.

“By producing a single strategy to combat unmanned systems, the Secretary and the Department are moving toward a shared understanding of the challenge and a common approach to meeting it.”

A UJ-22 Airborne reconnaissance drone (UkrJet), purchased under the “Army of Drones” program, prepares to land during a test flight in the kyiv region. (Sergueï Supinsky/AFP via Getty Images)

Three American soldiers were killed during a January drone strike in Jordan. Experts have warned that the United States lacks a clear procedure for combating drones after 17 unmanned vehicles intruded into restricted airspace above Langley Air Force Base, Virginia, last December.

Iran hides missile and drone programs under cover of trade front to evade sanctions

The mysterious drones have been invading for over two weeks. The lack of standard protocol for such incursions left Langley officials unsure of what to do — other than allow the 20-foot-long drones to hover near their classified facilities.

The Houthis shot down American MQ-9 Reaper drones, like the one pictured here. (Isaac Brekken/Getty Images)

Langley is home to some of the nation's most vital top-secret facilities and the F-22 Raptor stealth fighters.

Two months before Langley, in October 2023, five drones flew over the Nevada Department of Energy's National Security Site, used for nuclear weapons testing. The American authorities also did not know who was hiding behind these drones.

CLICK HERE TO GET THE FOX NEWS APP

A Chinese surveillance balloon crossed the United States for a week last year before the Air Force shot it down off the coast.

The Air Force's Plant 42 in California, home to highly classified aerospace development, has also seen a series of unidentified drone incursions in 2024, leading to flight restrictions around the installation.