Committee presses DOD on counter‑UAS gaps, Langley incursions and National Defense Areas
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Summary
Senators asked services about defending installations from unmanned aircraft system incursions and about the recent creation of National Defense Areas. Witnesses described technology, legal and community‑coordination challenges and pledged to work with the committee and with FAA and other stakeholders.
Senators pressed Defense officials about growing unmanned aircraft system (UAS) threats to installations at home and abroad, and about the use of National Defense Areas (NDAs) to support operations tied to border security.
"We certainly are seeing in real time the threat they pose in combat and the new iterations of them on the battlefield," Sen. Tim Kaine said, citing incursions at Langley Air Force Base and other sites. Kaine and other senators asked what services were doing to improve detection and counter‑UAS capability both inside and outside base perimeters.
Assistant Secretary Melissa Marx said the department will focus on both fence‑line defenses and community coordination so threats can be mitigated before reaching installations. Army and Air Force witnesses said counter‑UAS work includes technology investments, exercises to assess energy and power needs for sensors and communications, and policy coordination with the Federal Aviation Administration. "There are policy and legal challenges with doing counter UAS, particularly domestically," Dr. Waxman said, noting FAA restrictions on kinetic action beyond base boundaries.
Senators also raised the Golden Dome Act introduced in Congress and recent announcements creating additional National Defense Areas near Joint Base San Antonio and Marine Corps Air Station Yuma. Witnesses said NDAs are being established to provide specific property and operational authorities and that forces operating under Title 10 status are meant to assist federal law‑enforcement activities without supplanting posse comitatus restrictions. Service leaders said they would provide the committee with numbers and details on personnel and authorities in the new NDAs.
Why it matters: Lawmakers said recurring incursions and unclear authorities hamper both private‑sector and base responses to UAS. They urged clearer protocols with FAA, local authorities and industry and said legislative fixes may be needed.
Witnesses pledged to coordinate with the committee and to provide requested follow‑up briefings and personnel counts for the NDAs. No formal decisions were made at the hearing.
