US military bases are ill-equipped to stop drone swarms, top commander reveals after Rubio's UAP warning

A top commander responsible for defending the U.S. homeland warned Thursday that American military bases are "ill-equipped" to repel a swarm of small attack drones.

The vulnerability persists even as the Pentagon seeks billions for new counter-drone weapons, and Army Lt. Gen. Joseph Jarrard said the shortfall begins well before troops try to shoot down a drone.

Some bases do not have the sensors to spot and track an incoming swarm or the weapons to take it out, said the deputy commander of U.S. Northern Command and vice commander of the American contingent at North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).

"We dont have the sensors, and depending on where that swarm is going to attack, it depends on whether we have any sensors at all, and also whether weve got any effectors to go after that problem," Jarrard said at the annual Space and Missile Defense Symposium.

Jarrard said NORTHCOM is folding counter-drone tactics into Operation Noble Eagle, the long-running U.S.-Canada homeland air-defense mission. For now, he said, NORAD is relying on radars already in its inventory while working to connect with local law enforcement and other agencies that operate detection systems beyond military installations.

"Detection is obviously the biggest issue, and so how we are able to detect is one of our biggest concerns right now," Jarrard said. "Thats where weve got to get to with respect to the interoperability between not just military systems, but also those that are protecting our cities, critical infrastructure, etc., that are off our installations."

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Jarrards assessment offers a blunt measure of the gap between the Pentagons rapid counter-drone push and the protection available at installations today. Cheap, one-way attack drones have changed the battlefield calculus in Ukraine and the Middle East, where adversaries can threaten equipment, infrastructure and personnel without expending the missiles or aircraft traditionally associated with a strike on a military target.

"We are ill-equipped right now to handle something like that, and obviously weve seen it used," Jarrard told the audience. "Were seeing it used on a daily basis around the world, and weve got to figure out how to mitigate that threat."

His warning echoed concerns raised in May by NORTHCOM commander Gen. Gregory Guillot, who said troops deployed along the southern border lacked adequate counter-drone tools. The Pentagon has since sought a record $21 billion for drones, counter-drone weapons, munitions and other related capabilities as it tries to close the gap.

The warning also comes as President Donald Trump moves ahead with the Golden Dome plan, his broad homeland missile-defense initiative intended to protect the United States and critical infrastructure from ballistic, hypersonic and cruise missiles, as well as other advanced aerial threats.

The issue has resurfaced as it relates to the administrations broader discussion of unidentified objects around U.S. military sites.

Earlier this week, Secretary of State Marco Rubio said the government should tak