C-32 Forced To Delay Landing After F-16s Scrambled To Intercept Drone Near Capital
A C-32A VIP transport jet on a special air mission (SAM) had to delay landing at Joint Base Andrews on Saturday because two U.S. Air National Guard F-16C Vipers and a U.S. Coast Guard MH-65 helicopter were scrambled to intercept a 'potential drone' flying near the capital region, according to Air Traffic Control (ATC) audio posted online the internet. The object was observed over Freeway Airport located about 10 miles north of Andrews Air Force Base in Maryland, according to that audio. The incident began around 8:30 p.m. Eastern time on Saturday.
The C-32A was using callsign SAM47, which makes it clear neither POTUS nor VPOTUS were on board, although it was likely operating in support of the President's movements to the West Coast.
'You can expect some delay, I have a scramble in progress,' an ATC operator told the pilots of SAM47, according to the audio posted by a user named TEEJ on the metabunk.com website. Our friend @Thenewarea51 on X also posted a snippet of the conversation, along with flight tracking data that showed C-32A's flight path.
One of the POTUS backup aircraft SAM47 (C-32A) just happened to try and land at Andrews AFB in DC while returning from California when a potential drone was observed. BLACKJACK 01 (US Coast Guard HH-65 helicopter) was scrambled from Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport, DC… pic.twitter.com/dcld3JruBG
— Thenewarea51 (@thenewarea51) January 27, 2025
'Just be advised that we have an active scramble about 10 miles north of Andrews and just waiting on the jet to depart there … active intercept so that is the reason for the delay vector,' the ATC operator explained.
The ATC operator told the Coast Guard helicopter, callsign BLACKJACK01 and one of the F-16s, callsign BRAVE01, that the target of interest (TOI) was 'a potential drone [flying at an altitude of] between 5,000 and 6,000' feet. A second Viper, callsign BRAVE02, was also launched to track down the potential drone.
'BLACKJACK01, the TOI is now off about one to two o'clock, four miles south,' the ATC operator told the helicopter, guiding it toward the target. 'It looks like it is in the vicinity of Freeway Aiport,' a privately owned airport in Mitchellville, Maryland.
Several minutes later, ATC asked if BLACKJACK01 had intercepted the TOI.
'Negative for BLACKJACK01, negative.' the helicopter responded before being given further guidance from ATC.
'BRAVE01, turn right heading 320 last known radar ping was northwest of your position at six miles,' ATC told the Viper's pilot.
'BLACKJACK01, navigation is approved and just be advised I'm not showing a target anymore,' ATC told the helicopter a few minutes later. 'No more TOI.'
Eventually, the F-16s returned to their station at Andrews AFB and the MH-65 returned to its base at Reagan International Airport without intercepting the target and the C-32A landed without further incident as well.
A spokesperson for the 89th Airlift Wing at JBA, which is responsible for the presidential airlift unit and its mission, told The War Zone that there was no drone over the base and declined comment about the aircraft that were scrambled.
We've also reached out to the Air Force, the 316th Wing at Andrews Air Force Base, the 113th Wing, the White House, the FAA, the Coast Guard, U.S. Northern Command (NORTHCOM), and Freeway Airport for more information about what happened and what response measures were taken. In addition, we contacted the FBI, which is already investigating a wave of drone sightings on the East Coast, to see if they are looking into this incident. The FAA deferred our questions to the Defense Department. The 316th Wing at Andrews Air Force Base deferred our questions to the 89th Airlift Wing. We will update this story with any pertinent information provided.
It is unclear what would have happened if either the Vipers or the helicopter actually did intercept the potential drone. However, the incident underscores the challenges of protecting airspace near the capital from these objects and the limitations on counter-drone authorities and capabilities. An often confusing maelstrom of legal and regulatory hurdles that limit how and when active counter-drone defenses of any kind can be employed within the homeland, which you can read more about in our deep dive here.
The airspace over the capital region is the nation's most heavily protected. It is extremely well monitored with counter-drone and specialized optical systems, as well as enhanced radar, and FIM-92 Stinger missiles National Advanced Surface-to-Air Missile Systems, or NASAMS stand ready to shoot if need be, in addition to airborne intercept assets.
Regardless, smaller, slower drones are very hard to spot even during the day, let alone at night, due to their size and signature, making them extremely hard to intercept. It can also be dangerous because they are so hard to see and fly at much lower speeds than the aircraft intercepting them, especially the Vipers, so midair collisions are a real risk. The MH-65 is on call specifically to intercept low-and-slow moving targets like small light aircraft and the suspected drone, in this case.
It's also important to note that even with such an advanced and multi-layered integrated air defense system that cocoons the capital region, false alarms in regard to drones or intruding aircraft do occur. You can read all about one very prominent incident in which this happened and why in this TWZ exclusive.
This latest incident took place after a mass wave of drone sightings, mostly over New Jersey and New York. That included sightings over power facilities, Picatinny Arsenal and Trump's golf course in Bedminster that spurred the FAA to issue scores of Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs). over its facility while the other TFRs expired earlier this month without renewal except the one over Bedminster. The president, who had already promised to provide details about these incursions, last week ordered his chief of staff to share findings about those sightings with the public.
The potential drone sighting near Andrews Air Force Base also comes after drone incursions in December 2023 over Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, about 130 miles to the south. That event appears to have sparked a major wakeup call within the DoD as to the threat posed by these craft to critical military infrastructure.
Many other military installations in the Continental United States, like Wright-Patterson Air Force Base and Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton, have also been subjected to drones of unknown origin intruding over their airspace, as had the Air Force's Plant 42 advanced aerospace development hub in California this past fall. There were also drone incursions over U.S. bases in the United Kingdom in November. The last of those took place on Nov. 26, a spokesperson for the 48th Fighter Wing at RAF Lakenheath told us. The War Zone was the first to report all those incidents.
It is unknown at the moment if the incident that took place over the weekend has any connection to any of these prior sightings. However, it is likely to renew concerns about these objects, who is operating them, and whether they pose any real threats.
Contact the author: howard@thewarzone.com
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 hours ago
- Yahoo
Panel advances defense budget despite missing details from White House
House appropriators on Tuesday advanced plans for a $831.5 billion defense budget for next fiscal year over concerns from Democratic lawmakers that the spending package is rushed and incomplete, since the White House still has not unveiled its own detailed funding plans for the military. The appropriations bill topline essentially matches spending levels from the current fiscal year, leaving defense programs without any increase for inflation or cost-of-living hikes in the base budget plan. However, the funding plan is designed to run alongside congressional reconciliation plans, which would add another $150 billion in funds for the Defense Department. Republicans assert the combination could bring total military spending for next year to nearly $1 trillion, even though those funds would be spread out over four years. '[This bill] provides the resources necessary for maintaining American military superiority, leveraging our technological innovation into tactical advantages on the battlefield, and supporting the Defense Department's most valuable assets: our warfighters,'said Rep. Ken Calvert, R-Calif., chairman of the House Appropriations Committee's defense panel. Trump requests $892.6 billion base defense budget, a real-terms cut 'Together, with the significant defense funding advancing through Congress as part of the reconciliation process, the FY26 bill … [represents] a historic commitment to strengthening and modernizing America's national defense.' The measure calls for a 3.8% pay raise, eliminates 45,000 civilian defense jobs and allocates $13 billion to start the White House's proposed Golden Dome missile defense program. But Democratic lawmakers said the legislation — which could advance to the full chamber for approval later this month — still has too many gaps to support because the White House is months behind in its promise to provide a detailed budget to Congress. 'We have zip, nada, no idea where we are going,' Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., ranking member of the House Appropriations Committee, told Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth during a hearing before Tuesday's subcommittee vote. 'Give us the details … My hope was that we could get to it before a markup.' Hegseth said those details will be sent to lawmakers soon, but he also supported the committee moving ahead with the broad outlines of the defense spending plan. '[The president's plan] realigns the military to the historic strength that began in President Donald Trump's first term and makes generational investments in the president's priorities including developing the Golden Dome, sealing the Southwest Border, investing in the F-47, revitalizing our shipbuilding industry,' he told lawmakers. The 3.8% pay raise matches the federal formula for the recommended annual military pay raise, a calculation that Congress has followed most years for the last two decades. The formula is based on changes in wages for the civilian workforce and is designed to ensure that military paychecks don't lag behind compensation for other industries. Military pay has increased by at least 2% every year since 2017, and troops have seen a pay increase annually since the 1970s. Last January, that military pay raise was 4.5%. In addition, Congress approved a targeted pay raise for junior enlisted service members that went into effect on April 1, raising their paychecks by up to 10%. For junior enlisted troops, a 3.8% raise in 2026 would mean about $1,200 more in take-home pay. For senior enlisted and junior officers, the raise would add about $2,500 more to their annual paychecks. An O-4 with 12 years of service would see almost $4,300 more over 2025 pay levels. The pay increase will cost more than $6 billion next year, taking up nearly all of the planned increase in the appropriations bill's personnel account hike. As a result, other procurement accounts are being held flat or losing funding, potentially cutting other equipment and modernization priorities. The appropriations bill also projects $662 million in savings from 'slowing permanent change of station moves,' although specifics of that plan were not released by the committee. Democrats also objected to policy provisions in the bill blocking service personnel from traveling across state lines to seek reproductive health care, including abortion services. During former President Joe Biden's term in office, the department helped cover the cost of such trips, calling it a force readiness issue. Senate appropriators — both Republicans and Democrats — on Tuesday raised concerns about missing details from the White House's defense budget plan. That chamber is expected to unveil its appropriations draft of the military budget for next year in the next few weeks.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
Ukrainian F-16 Scores Air-To-Air Kill For The First Time
The Ukrainian Air Force has, for the first time, used a Lockheed Martin F-16 to shoot down a Russian aircraft, specifically a Sukhoi Su-35S fighter-bomber, according to a report from the Kyiv Post. The engagement occurred on June 7 near the town of Korenevo in the Kursk region of Russia and allegedly involved support from a Saab 340 airborne early warning and control plane, also a new entrant in the UAF's fleet. The Russian pilot successfully ejected before their plane was shot down. F-16s, advanced NATO fighter jets, first started arriving in the besieged country in August 2024 after a protracted political campaign to acquire them to replace Ukraine's aging Soviet-era fighter fleet. Much of the analysis at the time noted that F-16s would alter the balance of power in the air, making it much more difficult for Russia to strike with impunity. The fighter's first air-to-air kill in the war would seem to validate that theory. Read more: These Are The Cars Our Readers Wish Would Depreciate Faster The specific fighter in the sortie was an F-16AM originally from the Netherlands, which has given 24 such planes to Ukraine. The Royal Netherlands Air Force doesn't particularly need the fighters anymore, since it fully retired F-16s out of its fleet in September 2024 (replaced entirely by Lockheed Martin F-35s). These Dutch planes are old, first deployed in 1979, although they did receive upgrades in the meantime. Still, they're a sight better than the archaic Soviet-made MiG-29s that Ukraine had been flying up until now. Over half of that fleet has been destroyed by more modern Russian systems since the start of the full-scale invasion. By contrast, the Su-35 was first deployed in 2012 and is considered to be a "fourth-and-a-half-generation" fighter, more advanced than Cold War planes but not quite up to par with the ultra-modern F-35. A derivation of the earlier Su-27, it features vastly upgraded avionics and better maneuverability than its predecessor. It is still in production as one of the mainstays of the Russian Aerospace Forces. If hand-me-down F-16s from the 1970s can prove themselves to be a match for Russia's current-day fighters, that makes it much more difficult for the invading country to deploy its air assets into Ukraine. Worse for Russia's long-term prospects, it doesn't exactly bode well for a potential match-up between Su-35s and NATO's F-35s. Like all bullies, in trying to look tough, Russia might actually be showing just how weak it really is. Want more like this? Join the Jalopnik newsletter to get the latest auto news sent straight to your inbox... Read the original article on Jalopnik.
Yahoo
3 hours ago
- Yahoo
EDITORIAL: Auditor general targets spending on fighter jets
Be alarmed. Be very alarmed. A day after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced he will invest billions of new taxpayer dollars to meet Canada's NATO target of spending 2% of our gross domestic product (GDP) on defence, a scathing report by the auditor general reveals massive cost overruns in the government's plan to modernize Canada's aging fleet of fighter jets. Karen Hogan reported Tuesday that the cost of buying 88 F-35 fighter jets to replace Canada's aging fleet of CF-18s — estimated at $19 billion in 2022 because the government used outdated information — had increased by almost 50% to $27.7 billion by 2024. That's without including the added costs of building essential infrastructure — now more than three years behind schedule — and purchasing advanced weaponry to make the F-35s fully operational, which Hogan said will add at least $5.5 billion more to the final price tag. The fighter jet program also faces a shortage of qualified pilots, despite being warned about that issue in a 2018 report by the auditor general. Hogan said some of the government's cost increases were unavoidable due to inflation, fluctuations in foreign exchange rates and supply chain shortages caused by the 2020 global pandemic. But others were caused by government failures. 'National Defence's approach to managing risks … had weaknesses, lacking proactive measures to minimize the impact of potential threats and the project did not have robust contingency plans,' Hogan concluded. Adding to the uncertainty is that Carney has ordered a review on whether Canada should purchase all 88 American-made fighter jets or consider possible alternatives such as European-made fighter jets. EDITORIAL: Meeting NATO's 2% target the right move EDITORIAL: Jobless numbers spell trouble Defence Minister David McGuinty gave the standard government boilerplate response to the auditor general's findings, saying the government accepts the auditor general's recommendations and will implement some by Sept. 30 and others by Nov. 30. Which means that, as is the standard operating procedure in responses to critical auditor general reports these days, the same people who created the problems will now be trusted to fix them. That's disturbing in the context of the massive amount of new spending Carney has promised in order to hit Canada's NATO target of committing 2% of Canada's GDP annually to defence spending, starting during this fiscal year, which ends on March 31, 2026, compared to 1.4% last year.
