Drones spotted over Camp Pendleton in California posed no threat to operations: report
Drones spotted flying over Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton in Southern California over the past week posed no threat to operations at the installation, according to reports.
Base spokesman Capt. James C. Sartain told The Warzone that between Dec. 9 and 15, “there were six instances of unmanned aerial systems (UAS)” seen entering the airspace over Camp Pendleton.
Sartain also said the UAS did not pose any threat to installation operations.
The publication also learned from base personnel that countermeasures to take out the drones were not necessary as air and ground operations were not impacted.
Camp Pendleton officials did not immediately respond to Fox News Digital’s request for confirmation and further details on the matter.
The reports of drones flying over Camp Pendleton come as reports continue to come in of possible drones being spotted over military installations in New Jersey, including the Picatinny Arsenal in Rockaway Township, and Naval Weapons Station Earle in Colts Neck.
Drones were also seen flying near Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio over the weekend, forcing the base to close its airspace for hours on Saturday.
According to its website, Wright-Patterson is “headquarters for a vast, worldwide logistics system, a world-class laboratory research function, and is the foremost acquisition and development center in the U.S. Air Force.”
On Tuesday, Pentagon press secretary Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder told reporters the drones are not U.S. military assets, adding that the vast majority of the unmanned aircraft are likely used by hobbyists for recreational purposes.
“Just to kind of put this into context… [there are] over a million drones registered in the United States, and on any given day, approximately 8,500 drones are, you know, in flight,” Ryder said. “The vast majority of these drones are going to probably be recreational or hobbyist. They’re going to be commercial drones…you know, used in things like architecture, engineering, farming, or they could be used for law enforcement.”
Ryder also said, though, that bases like Picatinny and Earle are being outfitted with equipment to better detect, identify and track objects in their airspace as appropriate. If necessary, he explained, the system could have capabilities that employ non-kinetic means to disrupt drone signals, affecting their ability to operate.
Rep. Michael McCaul, R-Texas, who serves as the House Foreign Affairs Committee chair, told C-SPAN on Tuesday that he believes the drones flying over military installations are being operated by the People’s Republic of China.
“We want answers, but the response that I’m getting is that we don’t know whose drones these are,” McCaul said.
The lawmaker said he learned the drones had been reported over military sites, adding that he would not think those types of drones are friendly, but instead thinks they are adversarial.
“We need to identify who is behind these drones,” he said. “My judgment, based on my experience, is those over our military sites are adversarial and most likely are coming from the People’s Republic of China.”
McCaul further explained that he based his belief that the drones are Chinese operated on the fact that China has purchased land near military bases.
Rep. Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., spoke to reporters after the House Intelligence Committee’s classified briefing with the FBI, Office of the Director of National Intelligence, and CIA on the New Jersey drones.
Houlahan told reporters she was not concerned about any threat and said it was irresponsible for anyone to scare the public about the matter.
“I think the message for the American people is that a lot of people from a lot of different organizations at the federal level are taking this very, very seriously [and] to date they haven’t found anything that would indicate that there’s foreign influence, foreign actors or even little green men who are, are working on the American people. And I think it’s really important that people understand that,” the lawmaker from Pennsylvania said.
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She continued, saying more work needs to be done, including legislation giving officials the authority to respond to threats of drones with the right technology.
Houlahan pointed out that more drones will begin gracing the airspace, and with it being Christmas, there will likely be more drones under people’s Christmas trees next week.
She stressed that it was important for the American people to know “there is no evident threat coming from any place.”
But she also wanted to stress that the media and public officials have an important role when it comes to drones and the message sent to the public.
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“I’m not really sure why some of my colleagues have decided that this is important to scare the public, but I don’t think that that’s a terribly responsible thing to do,” Houlahan said. “Similarly with the media, I don’t think it’s terribly responsible to scare the public.”
Fox News Digital’s Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.