The US general admitted that air defense is powerless against drone swarms in the country

At a conference in the state of Alabama in midweek, when asked whether the US military could deal with an attack by a swarm of drones from within its territory, deputy commander of the US Army’s Northern Command Joseph Jarrard replied emphatically “impossible”.

“We do not have the necessary sensor systems. Detecting drone swarms depends on the location they are targeting, as well as whether we have the weapons available to deal with them or not,” he explained.

Northern Command (USNORTHCOM) is one of 11 unified commands of the US military, responsible for protecting the country’s territory and interests in US territory, Puerto Rico, Canada, Mexico, the Bahamas and Greenland, as well as surrounding areas. This is the agency responsible for key defense in case the United States is invaded.

General Jarrard added that the US military is not fully equipped to deal with such situations, while drones have been widely used in practice. “Drones appear every day around the world. We have to find ways to reduce the threat, but currently we have not achieved that capacity,” he said.

This appears to be the first time a senior US military leader has admitted to a series of closely related vulnerabilities, including a lack of situational awareness in the country’s own airspace.

General Jarrard also mentioned other concerns such as the lack of suitable weapons to take down unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and drones, as well as not having the necessary authority to deploy these assets when needed.

The clearest example of a drone attack is the Cyber ​​campaign conducted by Ukraine in June 2025, targeting a series of strategic Russian air bases. Most recently, there was an attack using a first-person drone (FPV drone) against a US surveillance radar and helicopter at a base in the Iraqi capital Baghdad on March 25.

“Such attacks highlight the risks that military infrastructure, key facilities and VIPs in the US face. Sensitive domestic facilities have fewer defense systems, and surveillance capabilities are more limited than front-line areas, not to mention lacking an equivalent level of alert,” said the editor of the US military website. War Zone Howard Altman commented.

General Jarrard said that the units under his command are applying experience from the Noble Eagle operation deployed after the attacks on September 11, 2001, which changed the entire US air defense posture, while waiting for the legal framework to allow the use of anti-UAV systems to be completed.

“We are taking advantage of available resources such as radar and other equipment. However, this work requires the participation of local law enforcement forces, because the scope of protection is not only within the military base, but also extends outside, similar to the coordination to ensure security during the World Cup,” he said.

USNORTHCOM has deployed mobile anti-UAV/drone sets to assist bases in detecting, identifying and neutralizing small aircraft that they cannot deal with on their own.

However, these systems require complex licensing and transportation processes before reaching the field, as well as limited protection capacity, especially against unannounced attacks such as Ukraine’s Spider Web campaign. This causes them to often appear only after the drone has entered the base.