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Mysterious Drone Swarm Spotted Over Largest US Naval Base
A group of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) have been spotted over Langley Air Force Base and Norfolk Naval Station in Virginia. Citing sources, the Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported that the mysterious swarm of drones had been appearing over several military installations for 17 days.
As the WSJ reported, Langley is the headquarters of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), Norfolk is the world's largest naval base, and next to it is the base of Team Six, an elite unit of Navy SEALs.
The incident occurred in 2023. The drone is believed to have appeared in the sky 45-60 minutes after sunset. According to eyewitnesses, the drone was 6 meters long, flying at 160 kilometers per hour, and sounded like a "parade of lawn mowers." Some devices were glowing. The police tried to track the drone, but lost it.
The newspaper's sources said they could not confirm the identity of the UAV. According to some of them, the drones could have belonged to China or Russia, which decided to test the reaction of the American military. At the same time, officials ruled out the enthusiasts' version, taking into account the complexity of operation and the fact that the device did not use the frequency range typical of serial commercial drones.
However, in January 2024, a suspect emerged in the case. Fengyun Shi, a 26-year-old University of Minnesota student and Chinese citizen, was found by the FBI to have images of warships on his drone. The man was arrested after attempting to board a flight to China without a roundtrip ticket. Shi said he was flying the drone for fun.
A Chinese national has been charged with illegally filming secret naval installations, the first time drone use has been found under the Espionage Act. Shi pleaded guilty and was sentenced to six months in prison. “If he were a foreign agent, he would be the worst spy of all time,” said his lawyer Xiaoming Cheng.
Earlier, the authors of The War Zone portal reported that the remains of the newest Russian drone S-70 Okhotnik could become an important and valuable discovery if they fall into the hands of Western intelligence.