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 that 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, the deputy commander of U.S.
Northern Command and vice commander of the American contingent at North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD)."We don’t 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 we’ve got any effectors to go after that problem," Jarrard said at the annual Space and Missile Defense Symposium.An industrial drone flies in the air on August 14, 2026 in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province of China.US imposes up to 100% tariffs on imported drones within 21 days, citing national security concerns.
(Photo by Long Wei/VCG via Getty Images)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.
"That’s where we’ve 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."PENTAGON CONSOLIDATES DRONE OVERSIGHT AS TRUMP ADMINISTRATION PUSHES RAPID UNMANNED WARFARE EXPANSIONJarrard’s assessment offers a blunt measure of the gap between the Pentagon’s rap...