Kansas Guard tells lawmakers small drones are "one of the biggest risks" and pitches Smoky Hill as national counter‑UAS test site

Lieutenant Colonel Keith Marshall, speaking for the Adjutant General—s Department and the Kansas National Guard, told the Joint Committee on Kansas Security that small unmanned aircraft are “one of the biggest risks to the state of Kansas right now.” Marshall described hundreds of UAS incursions at U.S. Air Force bases since 2022, battlefield uses in Ukraine and recent attacks that have caused personnel casualties and significant equipment losses.

Marshall said the risk is not limited to high-end weaponry. "It's the small unmanned aircraft that are fairly low sophistication, low technology, easy for anyone to use," he told the committee, and described how low-cost systems have been used for attacks, espionage and to disrupt aviation and infrastructure. He cited incidents including hundreds of incursions at U.S. installations, sustained sightings in Europe that closed airports, and battlefield campaigns that struck deep into adversary territory.

The Kansas Guard asked lawmakers and the committee to back efforts to use state assets for counter‑UAS research, testing and training. Marshall pointed to Kansas advantages: eight FAA-designated military operating areas, the Smoky Hill Range near Salina (which the Guard said offers near-complete range control), McConnell Air Force Base, and Kansas— aerospace and academic capabilities such as Wichita State—s NIAR and K-State Salina. He said Kansas Air Guard units and ranges were selected by Air Combat Command as part of a point-defense tasking and that the state is working with an active-duty wing to exercise and develop counter-UAS capabilities.

Marshall framed the approach as multi‑sector: he described recent DOD direction to boost U.S. drone capability and to partner with private industry and academic institutions for manufacturing, training and technological development. He described lines of effort that include securing the Air Combat Command battle lab, designating Smoky Hill for joint interagency test and training, integrating UAS into emergency and disaster response, and using Kansas expertise in AI, cyber red‑teams and cyber resilience to harden systems and support doctrine and training.

Marshall said the Air Force would issue an order describing specific tasks within weeks, and he urged coordination with state agencies—transportation, commerce, agriculture, law enforcement—and with the congressional delegation. He emphasized training and public‑private partnerships as necessary to translate the state—s range, industry and academic assets into scalable counter‑UAS capability.

Ending: Marshall stood for questions; legislators asked about timeline, whether laws permit law enforcement to disable or destroy UAS, and whether commercial aircraft or prisons could use similar countermeasures. He said those issues remain under discussion and that the state is in early phases of defining exact tasks and authorities.