America’s Airspace Under Threat: Aerial Security Crisis Looms

If you think the southern border is our only gaping national security hole, think again. Our skies—yes, the very air above your homes, hospitals, nuclear facilities, and military bases—are under silent siege. And Washington, in typical fashion, is asleep at the controls.

Last week, in a sobering hearing before a House Homeland Security Subcommittee, leading drone industry experts laid it out plainly: the United States has *no idea* who’s flying what, where, or why in our own airspace. That’s not hyperbole. That’s a direct quote from Tom Walker, CEO of DroneUp, the world’s largest drone services network: “We don’t have awareness of our airspace.” Let that sink in.

Walker, who’s worked closely with the FAA, DOT, DOD, and DHS, warned lawmakers that we are dangerously behind the curve—and it’s not just about hobbyists buzzing your backyard. We’re talking about drones interfering with law enforcement, striking firefighting aircraft, and, yes, being used by cartels to drop explosives on rivals along the southern border.

Steven Willoughby, the DHS director of counter-UAS programs, testified that cartel drones have already been weaponized—and it’s only a matter of time before they’re turned on Americans and law enforcement officers. That’s not a sci-fi scenario. That’s our present reality.

So what’s the federal government’s response? A patchwork of policy band-aids and a flimsy “Remote ID” system that can be overridden by anyone with a YouTube tutorial. There is no national database. No real-time tracking. No centralized awareness. And yet we’re expected to believe the same bureaucracies that couldn’t secure the border or get out of Afghanistan cleanly are going to somehow solve this?

The truth is, we’ve let the left’s obsession with regulation over results cripple our ability to defend the homeland. Instead of building a robust, responsive drone tracking system, the FAA and other agencies are bogged down in red tape and academic debates. Meanwhile, over a *million* violations of airspace policy have already taken place. According to Walker, drone operators fly in restricted areas, above altitude limits, and during temporary flight restrictions with impunity. Why? Because they know no one is watching.

Remember the California man who flew his drone into a Canadian Super Scooper aircraft battling the Palisades Fire? That drone grounded a lifesaving aircraft for five crucial days. Five days. Smoke, flames, and lives on the line—and one drone shut it all down. Or the drone that struck a helicopter in Texas during a search-and-rescue mission. These aren’t just accidents. These are failures of government accountability and national defense.

And let’s be clear: this isn’t an argument against drone technology. Used properly, drones are transforming logistics, agriculture, emergency response, and more. But without structure, without enforcement, and without awareness, the very tools that can help us will be used to harm us.

Tom Walker has a solution: start by protecting critical infrastructure. Roll out a phased system to identify every drone, every pilot, and every mission. Create a national, real-time airspace map accessible to law enforcement and homeland security personnel. In other words, treat drone incursions like the national security threats they are.

The Biden-era bureaucracies failed to act. They were too busy pushing DEI mandates and climate hysteria to focus on real threats. But now, under President Trump’s second term, it’s time to clean house and put America’s safety first. That means empowering technological experts, cutting the regulatory fat, and building the tools necessary to secure our skies.

As Walker said bluntly, “If you don’t have awareness, you cannot have control of your airspace. And if you don’t have control of your airspace, you can’t defend your airspace – which means you have no sovereignty of your airspace.” That’s not just a technical failure. That’s a constitutional crisis.

Congress must act now. Not tomorrow, not next year, and certainly not after the next drone strike. We need oversight, enforcement, and a centralized system that gives us command of the skies. Because if we can’t control our own airspace, then we don’t control our own country.

It’s time to stop talking policy and start delivering protection.