It’s peculiar this story hasn't made bigger waves. Published on Feb 22, 2024, local Arizona news/media outlet “Arizona’s Family” ran a story about 22 cases of UAS (uncrewed aerial system), or “drone,” incursions over highly sensitive Air Forces bases in southern Arizona. These incursions all happened between January 13, 2022 and June 26, 2023. In one case, a UAS actually hit the canopy of an F-16 fighter jet (yet no damage reported). Three of these events happened over “restricted area R2301E” otherwise known as the Barry M. Goldwater Range. This is a particularly sensitive area because it's a training ground for F-35s, the most advanced fighter jet in the world.
Perhaps this story never made waves in the news because these stories are framed as “drone incursions” and the public has a general awareness that drones are now ubiquitous in warfare and military operations. However, the general public has little understanding of actual drone capabilities and the abilities of our own cutting edge fighter jets. For those who do possess such awareness, many features of this story simply do not add up. To note:
- Most of the Arizona incursions happened at altitudes much higher than most military drones can operate. Not impossible heights, but close to it. Many of the sightings occurred above 16,000 feet, which is already extremely high for a drone, but others were reported above 20,000 feet and one case as high as 36,000 feet. In another case, the pilot reported a “small metallic object” at 24,000 feet.
- UAS/drones are incredibly easy for fighter jets to shoot down (this is why Ukraine wanted F-16’s so desperately; they’re using them to take down Russian UAS/drones more so than piloted fighter craft), yet in not one of the 22 UAS cases did U.S. fighters engage with or shoot down a “drone.” They did the opposite and took evasive action away from the UAS. This defies logic. Why wouldn’t F-16s and F-35s engage with UAS operating over restricted military air space? Retreat makes no sense.
- AF says they have no idea where the UAS originate from (they hint it’s likely somewhere in Mexico) or where the UAS return to. Again, to those with an awareness of modern U.S. military tracking capabilities, this also defies logic. 1) AF bases have powerful ground based radar to track all aerial objects for hundreds of miles; 2) The weapon tracking systems and radar of the in-flight F-16s and F-35s could easily monitor UAS trajectory and follow them home; 3) We have satellites that can support long distance reconnaissance. All combined, there is simply no way we wound’n’t be able to know where these UAS either crash or return to.
Add it all up and it begs the question: Are these actually UAS, or are we talking about UAP (unidentified anomalous phenomena)?
Why isn’t the American public getting more information about unknown craft loitering above some of our most sensitive military bases?
