The Pentagon has cleared over 130 military bases across the country to down drones that are perceived as a threat to security and flight operations.

Military analysts in the country have been concerned about the possible use of drones against the United States for espionage purposes. In line with this, the Pentagon has approved a new policy that gives the military the green light for shooting down civilian drones flying over or near selected US bases. These rules were issued to local authorities and domestic military installations following classified guidelines given by Bob Work, the former Deputy Defense Secretary in July. Bases were also given the mandate to communicate with the local communities about these new restrictions that allow the military to disable, destroy and track UAV’s or drones.

According to Jeff Davis, the US Navy Captain, the increase in commercial and private drones across the country has raised concerns about the safety and security of military installations. He also added that terror groups including ISIS have the ability to weaponize commercially available drones for combat as seen in Iraq and Syria. The Defense department, therefore, developed some countermeasures that give the military a go ahead to down drones under specific circumstances, or should the need arise. It is not clear how they would bring down these drones, but the use of conventional methods to shoot the drown and non-kinetic methods like disrupting drone flight using radio waves are some of the possible countermeasures. The new rules follow reports of several unauthorized aerial intrusions by private drones above military bases, including a recent one that almost collided with an F-22A Raptor worth $250 million.

Navy Capt. Jeff Davis explained how drones remain a highly sensitive threat to the security of military bases, sports stadiums, and airports. The full scope of the series of counter actions, however, remain highly classified but will allow the military do a range of things when manning aerial systems. He also pointed out that these measures will include destroying or incapacitating drones and seizing them for investigations.

The Navy Captain added that Pentagon is working in collaboration with FAA, the Federal Aviation Administration to come up with new restrictions that will enhance their security in line with the National Defense Authorization Act. The 2017 National Defense Authorization Act authorized the Departments of Defense and Energy to mitigate drones in alarming circumstances and safeguard the US airspace system in coordination with the FAA as the legislation requires.

Since the engagement rules remain classified, it will be the mandate of individual bases to sensitize the local communities on how far civilian drones should operate to avoid downing by the military. David said that the military has the right to self-defense and will deal with every drone differently; however, all our course of actions will be in complete coordination with the FAA. According to the FAA, the private and commercial drone fleet is highly growing, and an estimated 1.6 million drones will be in use by 2021. This calls for the need to lay out policies that will ensure the nation’s airspace remains secure in the future.

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