WASHINGTON (7News) — Unidentified drones were detected by U.S. officials above the Washington, D.C., Army base where Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth live.
A source close to the matter confirmed to National Security Correspondent J.J. Green with our news partners at WTOP that several unidentified drones were spotted above the base in a single night within the past week and a half.
A spokesperson for the U.S. Army Military District of Washington confirmed it was aware of reported drone sightings over Fort McNair and nearby areas and said its law enforcement is investigating.
“Our top priority is the safety of our service members and civilian personnel that work and live on the base,” the spokesperson said.
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The Pentagon has not yet responded to 7News’ request for details.
“It’s a significant security concern,” John Torres, former special agent in charge for Homeland Security Investigations in D.C. and Virginia who now leads security and technology consulting for Guidepost, told 7News. He said drones could be used for everything from surveillance to carrying out attacks.
“There’s such a wide range of options, none of them really good as to why there would be a drone in an area like that — especially over a military base where there are lots of sensitive activities going on.”
There is no credible threat to the Fort, but the Army is continuing to monitor the situation and will “adjust force protection measures as needed,” according to a spokesperson.
Torres said he believes the military will use a layered defense strategy, including electronic warfare to jam up equipment frequencies to try to camouflage the area and prevent drones from flying there.
“You have to take all of these incidents very seriously, especially in times like this,” Torres said. “In my world and working in law enforcement, you don’t assume anything, and you don’t believe in coincidences either. And so you’re always going to start with the premise: there’s bad intent here.”
