Army secretary says drones pose "threat of humanity's lifetime"

Washington — Army Secretary Dan Driscoll said Sunday that drones airs "the menace of humanity's lifetime," arsenic officials person warned of escalating aerial information risks. But helium said he's hopeful astir the U.S.' approach.

"If you look astatine the velocity and standard of the devastation that tin travel from drones, we arsenic a national authorities person got to pb connected it," Driscoll said connected "Face the Nation with Margaret Brennan." "But I'm truly optimistic. This is really thing we are doing right."

Driscoll outlined that the U.S. Army has been enactment successful complaint of the counter-drone menace for the Pentagon, and is moving "hand successful mitt with the instrumentality enforcement agencies." 

"What we are trying to bash — due to the fact that this occupation is antithetic from astir thing faced successful a agelong clip — is simply a flying IED," Driscoll said, referring to Improvised Explosive Devices. "They're cheap, you tin 3D-print them astatine home, and they transverse borders incredibly quickly."

The comments travel aft Sen. Tom Cotton, an Arkansas Republican who leads the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CBS News past week that the menace to subject sites and ample civilian gatherings "is terrible and growing," citing grounds of persistent drone incursions and gaps successful instrumentality enforcement authorities.

Last year, determination were much than 350 unauthorized drone flights implicit astir 100 subject installations, according to the Defense Department, on with much than 27,000 drones detected wrong 500 meters of the U.S. confederate borderline successful the past fractional of 2024. Meanwhile, the fig of unauthorized flights during sporting events went down somewhat past year, though the wide inclination is continuing to determination upward, according to NFL data.

Driscoll said the Army is moving with instrumentality enforcement agencies astatine borders and ports, and astatine large events similar upcoming NFL games, the Olympics and the World Cup.

"This is thing we arsenic a federation tin pb on," Driscoll said. "And truthful nether President Trump's leadership, we are moving accelerated astatine this problem."

Driscoll said "the occupation with the drone combat is you request each sorts of layered defense," and helium outlined that determination are antithetic authorities "when you're doing it successful your ain homeland."

"A batch of this is simply a quality occupation of communication, bid and control, and having a layered acceptable of solutions that you tin usage for immoderate fixed problem," helium added.

When it comes to regulating drones, Driscoll said he's "pretty optimistic that we volition beryllium capable to fig retired a solution wherever we volition cognize what is successful the entity astatine each infinitesimal crossed our country, each astatine once."

Driscoll said "we are trying to plan a strategy truthful that Americans are capable to alert drones," on with commercialized companies similar Amazon. Citing the aboriginal of transportation successful commercialized drones, Driscoll said, "we volition conscionable person to deconflict the skies, moving with the FAA."

"What is astonishing astir our state is we are capable to admit wherever we request to innovate quickly," Driscoll said. "What we're doing for drones, wholly differently, I deliberation than we person done arsenic an limb successful astir apt 50 oregon 60 years, is we're welcoming successful American industry."

On contention with China, which presently dominates commercialized drone production, Driscoll said helium expects to drawback up.

"What we are going to bash is we are going to put successful things similar sensors and brushless motors and circuit boards and a batch of the components that are truly hard for the backstage assemblage to get close now, the United States Army is going to physique those connected our bases and empower the backstage assemblage to acquisition from us," helium said. "And truthful we volition marque drones. Our backstage partners volition marque drones, and we volition drawback up and surpass the Chinese incredibly quickly."

Olivia Gazis contributed to this report.