FIRST ON FOX: Dozens of drones that traipsed over Langley Air Force base in late 2023 revealed an astonishing oversight: Military officials did not believe they had the authority to shoot down the unmanned vehicles over the U.S. homeland. A new bipartisan bill, known as the COUNTER Act, seeks to rectify that, offering more bases the opportunity to become a "covered facility," or one that has the authority to shoot down drones that encroach on their airspace. The new bill has broad bipartisan and bicameral support, giving it a greater chance of becoming law. It's led by Armed Services Committee members Tom Cotton, R-Ark., and Kirsten Gillibrand, D-N.Y., in the Senate, and companion legislation is being introduced by August Pfluger, R-Texas, and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., in the House. Currently, only half of the 360 domestic U.S. bases are considered "covered facilities" that are allowed to engage with unidentified drones.

US Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot told a senate committee that last year there were 350 drone detections over 100 military installations last year. A senior U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM) official told members of the Senate that some of the 350 drones that flew over military installations and sensitive areas last year may have been conducting surveillance. U.S. Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot, who is commander of NORTHCOM and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), was questioned about the drones during a Senate Armed Services Committee Budget hearing on Thursday. Drones were spotted flying all over the country last year, though most notably in New Jersey. They were also flying over military installations, including Joint Base Langley, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Vandenberg Space Force Base.

President-elect Donald Trump wants to create an Iron Dome missile shield over the United States. Can this really be happening without our government's knowledge. Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!" he wrote Friday on Truth Social. Couldn't agree more, except please don't get your shotgun out of the closet and start rooting around for a box of shells. It's illegal to interfere with any aircraft in flight, manned or unmanned. Maybe its deer season where you live, but alas, it is never drone season. Right now, statutes limit even the military's ability to intercept drones in the U.S. America's got a drone problem. Some drones are legal and no threat to you and me. Some are flown by drug cartels dropping off fentanyl in San Diego. Gen. Greg Guillot, Commander, U.S. Northern Command, told the Senate more than 1,000 drones per month cross the southern border. Other drones belong to the police, or to the military. Don't forget the NYPD has 110 drone operators qualified by the FAA. I also expect some of the drone sightings connect to military experiments and operations. Map showing some of the places where mystery drones have been spotted in Northeastern USA in December 2024. But without question, the U.S. is vulnerable to a national security threat from drones in a way we've never experienced before. While many U.S. military installations have anti-drone systems, the rest of the country doesn't. A new plan for countering drones in U.S. airspace should be top priority for President-elect Trump's incoming Cabinet: Homeland Security, Defense, and Transportation, with the FAA. Find a conference table at Mar-a-Lago and get key Cabinet nominees Kristi Noem, Pete Hegseth and Sean Duffy started now. What worries me is the pattern emerging of sightings of multiple drones, operating at low altitude, with persistent and coordinated overwatch, near military bases and critical infrastructure. Of course, New Jersey has a lot of cool stuff: the aircraft carrier electromagnetic catapult test infrastructure, Picatinny Arsenal, Naval Weapons Site Earle, which stores and loads munitions for the Navy's Atlantic fleet. While the New Jersey sightings date from Nov. 20, drone incidents started years ago. Back in 2017, an Air Force F-22 Raptor stealth fighter encountered a drone over the runway while landing at Langley AFB in Virginia. Yeah, I can see why the Chinese might want a close-up view of the engine intakes and stealth panel seals on that. In California, drones regularly drop inside the fences at the sprawling factories in Palmdale that build top secret military planes like the B-21 stealth bomber. "Some of it, I'm pretty sure, is our adversaries.