| FBI: 'A SLIGHT OVERREACTION': As the American public has been increasingly spooked by what appears to be a dramatic uptick in drone flights over some regions of the country — particularly at night, over New Jersey and its environs — the FBI said so far its investigation has found nothing out of the ordinary. "You can't ignore the sightings that have been there, and we are concerned about those just as much as anybody else is. I'm a resident of New Jersey. I live here," an FBI official told reporters in a phone briefing Saturday. "We're doing our best to find the origin of those drone activities. But I think there has been a slight overreaction." The FBI—which investigates the criminal use of drones—established a tip line, deployed visual observation teams throughout New Jersey, reviewed videos, conducted radar analysis, and overlaid sightings of large objects with the flight patterns over the region's airports, concluded that "all large fixed-wing reported sightings have been manned aircraft." "In overlaying the visual sightings reported to the FBI with approach patterns for Newark-Liberty, JFK, and LaGuardia airports, the density of reported sightings matches the approach patterns of these very busy airports," the official said. "This modeling is indicative of manned aviation being quite often mistaken for unmanned aviation or UAS [Unmanned Aerial Systems]." "Without a doubt, there have been UASs flying over the state of New Jersey. With nearly a million registered UASs in the United States, there's no doubt many of them are owned and operated here within the state," the official stated. "The national airspace is designed to be as minimally restrictive as possible. And all indications are these UAS operators are operating within the parameters established for their use in that airspace." DHS: 'WE ARE ON IT': "There are thousands of drones flown every day in the United States, recreational drones, commercial drones. That is the reality, and in September of 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, changed the rules so that drones could fly at night," Alejandro Mayorkas, outgoing Homeland Security Secretary, said on ABC. "And that may be one of the reasons why now people are seeing more drones than they did before, especially from dawn to dusk. But I want to assure the American public that we are on it. We are working in close coordination with state and local authorities." Under FAA rules, it is perfectly legal to fly drones in U.S. airspace, both day and night, so long as the drones stay below 400 feet and remain in sight of the operator at all times. Along with the million or so registered drones, there are likely another million or more unregistered. "There's no question that people are seeing drones," Mayorkas said. However, to reassure the public, he said state and local governments need additional powers. "Our authorities currently are limited, and they are set to expire. We need them extended and expanded." "We want state and local authorities to also have the ability to counter drone activity under federal supervision," Mayorkas said. "With respect to the ability to incapacitate those drones, we are limited in our authorities. We have certain agencies within the Department of Homeland Security that can do that, and outside our department, but we need those authorities expanded as well." FEDERAL AGENCIES WANT MORE AUTHORITY FROM CONGRESS TO DEAL WITH DRONES DOD: "THIS IS NOT A NEW ISSUE FOR US': An official from the Pentagon's Joint Staff also insisted that what's happening now isn't anything new or startling. "We have had confirmed sightings at Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Weapons Station Earle. They're all visual, but they are by highly trained security personnel," the official said on the Saturday conference call. "We have electronic means to detect and respond, and we train our security personnel to identify, categorize, and then employ their equipment to deny the drone use over our bases." All military bases are "no-drone zones," and most incursions amount to "low-end" violations of local and state force protection measures. "This is not a new issue for us. We've had to deal with drone incursions over our bases for quite a time now," the official said. "It's something that we routinely respond to in each and every case when a reporting is cited." But while the U.S. military has "no intelligence or observations" that would indicate the drone incursions "are aligned with a foreign actor" or have "malicious intent," the DOD official admitted they have no way of knowing. "We have not been able to locate or identify the operators or the points of origin. We have very limited authorities when it comes to moving off base … We're also significantly restricted, and rightfully so — in fact, prohibited — from intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance here in the homeland." "We don't know what the activity is. We don't know if it's malicious, if it is criminal, but I will tell you that it is irresponsible. And, you know, here on the military side, we are just as frustrated with the irresponsible nature of this activity." 'A LOT OF US WHO ARE PRETTY FRUSTRATED RIGHT NOW: "I think Americans are finding it hard to believe we can't figure out where these are coming from," Rep. Mike Waltz (R-FL), the incoming White House national security adviser, said on CBS. "It's pointing to gaps in our capabilities and in our ability to clamp down on what's going on here." "When you have sensitive sites like Picatinny Arsenal, you have, of course, President Trump's residence at Bedminster, and you have other no-fly areas, those need to be enforced. We need to know who's behind it. How do we enforce these low-level, long-loitering, could-be-dangerous drones?" Waltz said. "It's not necessarily somebody that's just on the other end flying it. They could be following prepositioned GPS coordinates. They could be coming from offshore." "There's a lot of us who are pretty frustrated right now. You know, the answer, 'we don't know' is not a good enough answer," Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, Congressman said on Fox News Sunday. "When people are anxious, when they're nervous — and this has been true, you know, since we've been a species on this planet — people will fill a vacuum with, you know, their fears and anxieties and conspiracy theories." "Just putting information out there to fill that vacuum would be helpful," Himes said, suggesting the FAA, in particular, should be explaining just how many aircraft fill the skies every day. "Show a picture of the number of aircraft, commercial, and private, and military, that go over New Jersey in any 24-hour period." "That doesn't mean, by the way, and don't get me wrong, that doesn't mean that drones can't be enormously dangerous, right? And there have been case after case of people flying drones into restricted airspace. You know, one of those things gets sucked into a jet engine of a plane on LaGuardia approach. That is a very, very serious thing," Himes said. "Ten years ago, none of us ever had heard of a drone. And now it is a very powerful piece of technology that can be misused," he said. "I guess, what I'm saying is, let's not jump immediately to Iranians, to Chinese, to Martians. …. I know with confidence. It is not the Iranians. It is not the Chinese. They aren't Martians. I know that's very unsatisfying for people who want a Hollywood movie out of this." YOUNGKIN COOLS FEARS OVER VIRGINIA DRONE SIGHTINGS BUT MAINTAINS DC'S TRANSPARENCY 'INSUFFICIENT' Good Monday morning and welcome to Jamie McIntyre's Daily on Defense, written and compiled by Washington Examiner National Security Senior Writer Jamie McIntyre (@jamiejmcintyre) and edited by Christopher Tremoglie (@chriswtremo). Email here with tips, suggestions, calendar items, and anything else. Sign up or read current and back issues at DailyonDefense.com. If signing up doesn't work, shoot us an email and we'll add you to our list. And be sure to follow me on Threads and/or on X @jamiejmcintyre. CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP OR READ BACK ISSUES OF DAILY ON DEFENSE NOTE TO READERS: Daily on Defense will be on Christmas break from Monday, Dec. 23 through Wednesday, Jan. 1. GRAHAM ON HEGSETH: 'I'M IN A GOOD PLACE WITH PETE': In three short weeks since President-elect Donald Trump nominated former Army National Guard Maj. Pete Hegseth, to be his secretary of defense, the decorated combat veteran has seen his chances of confirmation go from slim to very likely. Pete Hegseth had a good week this week on Capitol Hill," Sen. Thom Tillis (R-NC) said on Fox News Sunday. "At the end of the day, there's a lot of time … We haven't even seen the background checks, which I know the administration is sending our way." It initially seemed that Hegseth's multiple martial infidelities, accusations of hard-drinking, allegations of sexual assault that prompted a payoff to his accuser, as well as his opposition to women in combat and gays in the military would sink his nomination, considering he could lose only three Republicans votes the Senate. But with the strong backing of Trump — who had Hegseth in his box at Saturday's Army-Navy game — combined with Hegseth's adamant denial of sexual misconduct and financial malfeasance, along with a head-spinning about-face on women and gays, Hegseth seems to have increased his odds dramatically. "I'm in a good place with Pete, unless something I don't know about comes out. These allegations are disturbing, but they're anonymous," Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) said on NBC's Meet the Press. "I've known Pete for years. I met him in Afghanistan. I've heard nothing but good things about his service over there. He's a friend. The Pete Hegseth I know, this is not a problem I've been aware of." TRUMP CIRCLED BACK TO HEGSETH AFTER HITTING A WALL ON DESANTIS SUPPORT: HABERMAN HEGSETH'S ACCUSER CHALLENGED TO COME FORWARD: Graham revealed that Hegseth, who previously pledged to abstain from drinking while serving as defense secretary, has also agreed to free the woman who accused him of sexual assault in a Monterey, California hotel room in 2017 of the nondisclosure agreement he had her sign in return for an undisclosed about of monetary compensation. "He told me he would release her from that agreement," Graham said on NBC. "There's one allegation of a police report about sexual assault. That person has the right to come forward to the committee." "He's given me his side of the story. It makes sense to me. I believe him. Unless somebody is willing to come forward, I think he's going to get through," Graham said. "You're not going to destroy his nomination based on anonymous sources. People have to come forward and make credible allegations, and we'll see if they do." Graham also dismissed accounts that senators on the fence — such as Joni Ernst (R-IA), who is up for re-election in 2026 — are facing an intense pressure campaign from the Trump camp, including threats to support primary challengers. "I get pressured all the time to do this or do that. I'm pretty consistent. I vote for almost every nominee. I think I voted against one or two presidential Cabinet picks since I've been up here, because I believe every president deserves the right to pick their Cabinet." "The reality is Joni and all of us are just looking for a good, solid case to carry forward to the floor, and Joni asking questions and appearing to be objective with Pete, it's just fine with me," said Tillis on Fox. "I think you stay focused on the facts. There are some nominees that are going to have to ask some legitimate questions coming from Republican members. They're also going to have to … deal with unfair questions coming from the Democratic side." ROMNEY'S PARTING SHOT: 'MAGA IS THE REPUBLICAN PARTY': Retiring Sen. Mitt Romney (R-UT) — former GOP presidential nominee and one the harshest Republican critics of Donald Trump — has thrown in the towel and is muting his condemnation of the Trump wing of the party, conceding Trump's election victory shows he is the future. "MAGA is the Republican Party, and Donald Trump is the Republican Party today. And if you were to ask me who the nominee will be in 2028, I think it'll be J.D. Vance, all right? He's smart, well-spoken, part of the MAGA movement," Romney said in a lengthy valedictory interview with CNN's Jake Tapper Sunday. "Look, the Republican Party has become the party of the working-class, middle-class voter. And you've got to give Donald Trump credit for having done that, taken that away from the Democrats." As for his previous criticism of the MAGA wing in general and Sen. J.D. Vance in particular, Romney is ready to let bygones be bygones. "Long ago. I’m not going to rehash history. And we’ve worked together in the Senate since then." "Now, one of the challenges in my party is that our policies do not necessarily line up with the interests of our voters. And so there'll be some, you know, some reorientation that's going to be necessary in my party,' Romney said, while arguing the Democrats are the ones in trouble. "I mean, I don't know how they recover. And, you know, I'm not going to tell them what to do, because I wouldn't begin to have the capacity to do so. But they've lost their base." "Democrats pushed them out, all right? The Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren faction of the Democrat Party, with some of this, you know, defund the police and … biological males in women's sports, these things had a lot of people in the middle class just flee the Democratic Party. They're now Republicans." Romney thinks that Trump's handling of Ukraine will be a critical test of his "America First" doctrine. "America First means America is going to be involved in the world. That's why we're helping Ukraine, because, if Russia is stronger and takes Ukraine, then it's not going to stop. And if it doesn't stop, that's going to hurt us," he said. "So, yes, I think the institutions hold because I think people, when faced with the reality of what's at stake, they're going to want to protect the roots of freedom." RUSSIAN WRITERS CLAIM NORTH KOREAN SOLDIERS IN A 'BAPTISM BY FIRE' IN KURSK THE RUNDOWN: Washington Examiner: Federal agencies want more authority from Congress to deal with drones Washington Examiner: Youngkin cools fears over Virginia drone sightings but maintains DC's transparency 'insufficient' Washington Examiner: US needs to go on offensive following massive Chinese cyberattack, Waltz says Washington Examiner: Austin Tice's mother 'shares joy' of other American rescued from Syria as she awaits news on son Washington Examiner: Trump appoints Richard Grenell as 'special missions' envoy Washington Examiner: Israeli forces expected to stay in Syrian buffer zone through winter due to 'immediate risks' Washington Examiner: Russian writers claim North Korean soldiers in a 'baptism by fire' in Kursk Washington Examiner: DHS hired 13 from 'premiere' law firm to defend Mayorkas amid impeachment Washington Examiner: Tom Rogan Opinion: Biden abandons US interests in post-war Syria CNN: Two men arrested after drone flies 'dangerously close' to Boston's Logan Airport, police say AP: Ukrainian Drones Strike Russia as Kyiv Reels from Consecutive Massive Air Attacks Washington Post: Drones swarm Kyiv every night. These volunteers shoot them down. Reuters: US Military Confirms Drone Sightings at Air Base in Germany Politico: Hegseth Does a 180 on Women and Gays in Combat Washington Post: Foreign powers jockey for control in Syria, risking new conflict The War Zone: Russian Forces Appear to Be Pulling out of Prized Syrian Air Base Wall Street Journal: Brush With Russia in Baltic Points to New Flashpoint in NATO-Moscow Shadow War Air & Space Forces Magazine: USAF Leaders See 'Human-Machine Teams'—Not Robots—as Future of Airpower Inside Defense: US Military Readying Hypersonic Weapon for Fielding After Successful Flight Test Air & Space Forces Magazine: Space Forces Aims for Bigger Exercises, More Realistic Training DefenseScoop: Despite Softened Bill Language, Observers Still Optimistic About Independent Cyber Force Assessment Breaking Defense: Such Efficiency, Very Defense: Congress, Industry Waiting for Elon's DOGE to Wow Air & Space Forces Magazine: DOD Officials See Progress in Tackling Weapons Cybersecurity but a Long Way to Go Wall Street Journal: Boeing Delays Mean Trump Won't Fly on a New Air Force One Defense News: ULA Eyes Annual Mods to Turn Rocket Stage into Space Interceptor Military.com: New Housing Allowance Rates for Troops Have Been Set for the Coming Year 19fortyfive.com: The United States Must Revisit the Basics of Geostrategy 19fortyfive,com: S-500: The Air Defense System Built to Shoot Down F-22 and F-35 Fighters 19fortyfive,com: The U.S. Air Force's B-21 Raider Stealth Bomber Dilemma 19fortyfive,com: The F-15EX Eagle II Fighter Might Be the U.S. Air Force's Big Mistake The Cipher Brief: NSA Director: Salt Typhoon 'Not the Highest-end Operation That We've Seen' The Cipher Brief: Memo to the President: A 'Perfect Pressure Campaign' Against Iran The Cipher Brief: An All-of-Society Approach to US Counterintelligence MONDAY | DECEMBER 16 12 p.m. — Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft virtual discussion: “Power Plays: U.S. Turkey Relations Under Trump,” with Kadir Ustin, executive director of the Foundation for Political, Economic, and Social Research; Gonul Tol, senior fellow at the Middle East Institute; Steven Simon, senior research fellow at the Quincy Institute; retired Army Col. Rich Outzen, non-resident fellow at the Quincy Institute; and Adam Weinstein, deputy director of the Quincy Institute’s Middle East Program https://us06web.zoom.us/webinar/register TUESDAY | DECEMBER 17 9 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic International Studies all-day event "Celebrating the U.S. Space Force and Charting Its Future," with Rep. Mike Rogers (R-AL) House Armed Services Committee chairman; Space Force Gen. B. Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations; retired Gen. John Raymond, first Chief of Space Operations; Robert Lightfoot, president, Lockheed Martin Space; and Gwynne Shotwell, president and COO, SpaceX. Register and full speaker list at: https://www.csis.org/events/celebrating-us-space-force-and-charting-its-future 10 a.m. 1201 Pennsylvania Ave. NW — Hudson Institute discussion: “Homeland Security and the China Challenge,” with House Homeland Security Chairman Mark Green (R-TN) livestream at https://www.hudson.org/events/homeland-security-china-challenge 10 a.m. — Arab Center virtual discussion: “Syria After Assad: Domestic and Regional Challenges,” with Natasha Hall, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Middle East Program; Marwan Kabalan, director of political studies at the Arab Center for Research and Policy Studies; Marwa Daoudy, associate professor at Georgetown University; and Khalil Jahshan, executive director of the Arab Center https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/ 11 a.m. 1400 L St. NW — Atlantic Council discussion of a new report: “The Reluctant Consensus: War and Russia’s Public Opinion,” with author Maria Snegovaya, senior fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies’ Europe, Russia, and Eurasia Program; Henry Hale, professor at George Washington University; Brian Whitmore, assistant professor of practice at the University of Texas at Austin; and former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine John Herbst, senior director of the Atlantic Council’s Eurasia Center https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/report-launch 11 a.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “South Korea’s Political Crisis,” with Darcie Draudt-Vejares, fellow for Korean studies at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace Asia Program; Bruce Klingner, senior research fellow for Northeast Asia at the Heritage Foundation’s Asian Studies Center; and Victor Cha, CSIS Korea chair https://www.csis.org/events/impossible-state-live-podcast 1 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies Defending Democratic Institutions Project virtual fireside conversation with former Defense Secretary Leon Panetta, moderated by Suzanne Spaulding, director, CSIS Defending Democratic Institutions Project https://www.csis.org/events/day-after-election-fireside-conversation 3 p.m. — Center for Strategic and International Studies virtual discussion: “Growing Consensus on China: Real or Imagined?” with Rory Truex, associate professor at Princeton University; Jessica Chen Weiss, professor of China studies at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies; Robert Daly, director of the Wilson Center’s Kissinger Institute on China and the U.S.; Elizabeth Economy, senior fellow at the Hoover Institution; and Michael Cerny, Ph.D. student at Harvard University https://www.csis.org/events/growing-consensus-china-real-or-imagined WEDNESDAY | DECEMBER 18 9 a.m. 1400 L St. NW — Atlantic Council discussion: “The NATO perspective: Strengthening resilience within the Alliance,” with Assistant NATO Secretary-General for Defense Policy and Planning Angus Lapsley; Michael Carpenter, senior director for Europe at the National Security Council; and Estonian Ambassador to the U.S. Kristjan Prikk https://www.atlanticcouncil.org/event/the-nato-perspective 9:30 a.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies conference: “Security and Resilience: The Strategic Future of Subsea Cables,” with Assistant Homeland Security Secretary for Trade and Economic Security Christa Brzozowski; and Deputy Assistant Homeland Security Secretary for Economic Security Brien Andrew Beattie https://www.csis.org/events/security-and-resilience-strategic-future-subsea-cables 10 a.m. 310 Cannon — House Homeland Security Transportation and Maritime Security Subcommittee hearing: “Examining the Polar Security Cutter: An Update on Coast Guard Acquisitions" http://homeland.house.gov 10 a.m. — Center for a New American Security virtual briefing: “Irregular Warfare in an Era of Great Power Competition,” with Christopher Maier, assistant secretary of defense secretary for special operations and low-intensity conflict https://www.cnas.org/events/mission-brief-irregular-warfare 1 p.m. 1616 Rhode Island Ave. NW — Center for Strategic and International Studies discussion: “The Defense Department’s 2024 China Military Power Report,” with Assistant Defense Secretary for Indo-Pacific Security Affairs Ely Ratner; and Deputy Assistant Defense Secretary for China, Taiwan, and Mongolia Michael Chase https://www.csis.org/events/discussion THURSDAY | DECEMBER 19 10 a.m. — Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies “Aerospace Nation” virtual discussion with Air Force Secretary Frank Kendall https://mitchellaerospacepower.org/event/an-frank-kendall-24/ | | | | "Let me say something that I know with confidence. It is not the Iranians. It is not the Chinese. They aren't Martians. I know that's very unsatisfying for people who want a Hollywood movie out of this." | | Rep. Jim Himes (D-CT), top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, insisting on Fox News Sunday, that so far, there is nothing nefarious about the hundreds of drone sightings that have spooked America. |
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