This has been repeatedly warned about by various observers since drones were first used in Afghanistan, but the danger has grown in inverse proportion to their plummeting cost and size (Updated)

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The Biggest News Story Nobody Is Talking About

As all eyes are glued to the happenings in the Middle East, this story flew under the radar for most of us. 

But in a lot of ways, the implications for our national security could be greater than what happens in the next few weeks in the Persian Gulf. 

Drone warfare has come to the United States—to the heart of our nuclear deterrent capabilities—and our defenses proved inadequate to stop sophisticated drones from interfering with wartime operations. 

Amid the raging conflict in the Middle East, the astonishing events at Barksdale Air Force Base earlier this month have attracted only limited media attention. It is reported that swarms of unidentified drones repeatedly loitered over Barksdale between March 9 and 15, drawing no publicly known effective response from the military or the Department of Homeland Security (DHS). 

Barksdale is the headquarters of the Air Force’s Global Strike Command, which is responsible for the nation’s nuclear intercontinental ballistic missiles and strategic bomber forces, including B2, B1, and B52 aircraft. The base is home to the 2nd Bomb Wing B52s and is the central hub of communications and logistical support for coordinating and directing those forces. The fact that potentially threatening drones were able to operate over such a critical complex with apparent impunity over several days, after a similar event, spanning 17 days, occurred more than two years ago at Langley AFB, is astonishing. Reports indicate that Barksdale personnel were repeatedly ordered to take cover as drones roamed over buildings and aircraft. 

>>>>

Barksdale Air Force Base in Louisiana, in Bossier Parish not far from Shreveport, was attacked by drone swarms during the week of March 9. The attack disrupted B-52H aircraft launches in support of Operation Epic Fury against Iran. It is the first time a US airbase was temporarily put out of operation in wartime, something that never happened even in World War II.

Each wave forced the Air Force to halt operations and send its personnel to shelters. Barksdale is the command hub of the US Air Force Global Strike Command. Not only are B-52s based there, but the base is part of America’s nuclear triad. It shelters long range nuclear cruise missiles (such as the AGM-86B) and will soon house a new Long Range Standoff cruise missile. Shelters and storage sites for the new missiles are under construction. 

…. The drone waves lasted around four hours each day, an extraordinarily long loiter time for a drone. It is not known if the drones were fixed wing or quadcopter types, or how they were powered (liquid fuel or electrical). Each wave consisted of 12 to 15 drones, and the drones flew with their lights on, intentionally making them visible.

Barksdale AFB does not have air defenses, nor does it have fighter jets that can take down drones.

The airbase does have some electronic countermeasures that were designed to disable GPS and the datalinks between the drones and their remote operators. The electronic countermeasures failed to work.

…. These aren't your standard DGI drones. They are large, sophisticated, have long loiter times, and presumably have sensors and the ability to carry significant weapons. They aren't anything like the normal drones used in Ukraine, either, and those have done devastating damage. These potentially have far more capabilities.

And not only couldn't we stop them. Apparently we haven't been able to capture any or trace where they came from. 

…. What we know is that the drones had extraordinary range, could resist broad spectrum jamming, and featured non-commercial signal characteristics. Even more provocatively, the drones used various ingress and egress routes and operated in dispersed patterns, making traceability (via trying to triangulate on signals) virtually impossible.

…. One has to assume that the Pentagon is working furiously to address this problem, but in addition to hardware, it will require a complete rethink of how to deal with air defense within the United States, where the airspace is crowded not just with commercial and military aircraft, but a thriving civil aviation industry and even drone deliveries. 

Drones aren't just a big deal in Ukraine, Russia, and Iran. They are now a significant threat right here at home, and we aren't prepared. 

Here are just a few of the articles on the drone threat I’ve read on Instapundit just over the past year — there are more, on many more websites:

  • Stephen Green, February 23, 2026

Drones ‘change everything’ about combined arms combat, US Army aviation chief says.

Stephen Green Aug 21th, 2025

Project Flytrap began in March with initial research and testing. It has grown in scale and ambition, with 4.0 the first time troops integrated counterdrone systems into battalion-level fighting. The engagement scenario involved several dozen troops attacking roughly 180 defenders in traditional land battles augmented with hundreds of drones, employed in the most realistic ways possible short of lethality, said organizers.

To crank up intensity, they packed into the four-day exercise a relentless series of attacks, engagements and threats modeled on fighting in Ukraine and other conflicts.

“It’s terrifying, watching the drones counter each other,” said Zouzoulas of the scenes on Ukraine’s front lines.

Adapting to that reality is Flytrap’s focus. Troops from the Army’s 2nd Cavalry Regiment, based in Germany, and the U.K.’s Royal Yorkshire Regiment used new devices—some developed in-house and some from private companies—to track, jam and shoot down drones sent at them by other U.S. forces.

“It’s very much a cat-and-mouse game,” said Army Lt. Col. Jeremy Medaris, a leader of the exercise. Drones keep adapting, “so then you have to have an adaptation as well” to counter them. Instead of seeking a single solution, he said, the emphasis is on developing a flexible and layered approach with a range of tools.

Zouzoulas’s Terrestrial Layer System-Brigade Combat Team Manpack tackles the first stage in drone-fighting: spotting attackers. A sort of antenna, known as a Beast+, resembles a cactus growing out of a backpack, connected by wire to a screen the size of a smartphone. Designed for foot soldiers on the move, it scans for nearby drones’ radio signals and jams them.

An even smaller wearable system resembles two big walkie-talkies. Dubbed Wingman and Pitbull, they also seek and jam drones’ radio signals.

(FWIW) The good news? Unlike his predecessor, Trump has not ignored the threat, and is addressing it

AI Overview

In June 2025, the Trump administration launched a major anti-drone initiative, including a $500 million program to secure critical infrastructure and events like the 2026 World Cup against unmanned aircraft system (UAS) threats

. The effort focuses on expanding counter-drone technology, enhancing detection capabilities, and increasing legal enforcement.

Key Aspects of the 2025 Anti-Drone Program:

  • Executive Orders: President Trump signed orders in June 2025, specifically "Restoring American Airspace Sovereignty," to boost security against drone threats and strengthen national resilience.

  • Funding and Resources: The administration announced a $500 million investment to aid state and local governments in developing anti-drone security strategies.

  • Strategic Focus: The initiative targets security for major events, including the 2026 FIFA World Cup, and protects against foreign surveillance and illegal activity.

  • Counter-Drone Technology: The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) began implementing technology to detect, track, and identify drones, with capabilities to jam or disable unauthorized devices.

  • Training and Enforcement: A National Counter-UAS Training Center was created to assist law enforcement in responding to drone threats

    We’re livin in interesting times.

UPDATE Submitted by FWIW’s military strategist Gideon from a secret, undisclosed location (possibly, the trunk of a Jaguar)

Not relevant to anything in today's news, but spot-on for this aging hippie

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And, illustrating his point, I had to look up this Zoosha? K Smog (turns it’s one name, not two) and Batboy, to see if they were imaginary or real. Apparently, they do exist, or did in 2022.

This is why I can review what’s in the NY Post in such a short time, because 90% of its coverage is devoted to “celebrities” and sports stars; not interested, won’t waste my time.

UPDATE — related, somewhat

"House has not flooded during ownership" — that reassurance in its listing must have swept away any fears about the property’s location in the VE zone, because it's pending after just 16 days

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Mind you, that ownership period for 24 Taylor Drive, Cos Cob, was just a single year, having been purchased for $1.250 million on February 28, 2025 and relisted this month for $1.395, but it's some evidence, of floodworthiness, I suppose.

Speaking of men who would be kings ...

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Stephen Green, Instapundit. IT’S GOOD TO BE THE NOMENKLATURA:

Chicago, Where The Mayor’s Safety Is Far More Important Than Any Average Citizen’s.

“Reports now circulating in Chicago political media and on social media reveal Mayor Johnson’s personal armed security detail includes as many as 150 Chicago Police Department officers at a cost to taxpayers of roughly $30 million a year. That’s almost three times the number of cops that protected Johnson’s predecessor, Lori Lightfoot.”

It’s about reminding the proles where they stand in the hierarchy.

I wish he would just stop doing this sort of thing; we already know you have an overweening ego Don, so you can give it a rest

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no kings, please, we’re (not) british

Treasury to place Trump’s signature on paper currency to mark US 250th anniversary

U.S. dollar bills will bear President Donald Trump's signature to mark the 250th anniversary of American independence, the Treasury Department said, a first for a sitting president.

Trump's signature will be placed on all U.S. paper currency and will replace the Treasurer of the United States' signature on U.S. money for the first time in 165 years. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said the move will recognize the Trump administration's "historic achievements."

"Under President Trump’s leadership, we are on a path toward unprecedented economic growth, lasting dollar dominance, and fiscal strength and stability," Bessent said in a statement. "There is no more powerful way to recognize the historic achievements of our great country and President Donald J. Trump than U.S. dollar bills bearing his name, and it is only appropriate that this historic currency be issued at the Semiquincentennial."

The first $100 bills with the signatures of Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent will be produced in June, followed by other denominations in the coming months, Reuters reported. 

In a statement, Treasurer Brandon Beach said placing Trump's signature on U.S. currency is "not only appropriate, but also well-deserved," given his "mark on history as the architect of America’s Golden Age economic revival."

Thursday's announcement came as Trump makes efforts to put himself on a coin. The design of a commemorative gold coin with his image was approved by a federal arts panel. 

He can be a complete asshole.

And how ironic that he’s issued this dictate ostensibly to celebrate the 250th anniversary of our country’s revolution, a war that freed us from the rule of another monarch who stamped coins of the realm with his likeness, King George III

These are from England and Europe, but it’s certainly happening here, too

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PJMedia’s Ben Bartee has posted the latest chapters in his ongoing series in which he is “Archiving the strange death of Europe”

The Great Replacement Chronicles: Chicken Nuggets

UK: Illegal immigrant slated for deportation allowed to remain because son won’t eat foreign chicken nuggets

An Albanian illegal immigrant who falsely claimed asylum will not be deported because, his lawyer argued, the migrant’s son doesn’t like foreign chicken nuggets.

The attorney should win some award for “most insane successful defense of a client ever offered in open court.”

Via The Daily Mail

A migrant who fought deportation by arguing his son disliked foreign chicken nuggets has won the right to stay in Britain.

The case of convict Klevis Disha, 39 – who entered Britain illegally under a false name and lied in a failed asylum claim – sparked outrage when it emerged a year ago.

Critics cited it as a stark example of abuse of the European Convention on Human Rights. The Home Office talked tough, pressing to have him expelled – which should have been a formality as he was jailed for two years in 2017.

But despite the outcry he has won his appeal against removal.

His barrister Richard McKee successfully argued it would be 'unduly harsh' for his son, 11, to have to join his father in Albania, or be left in Britain without him…

A series of hearings dragged on for more than a year and Judge Veloso has now ruled in Disha's favour, under Article 8 of the Human Rights Act, noting 'C' 'struggles with certain textures of foods' and 'has a limited diet'.

The judge dismissed Home Office claims that 'C' spoke Albanian as a first language, and does not have a formal autism diagnosis, saying: 'Disha's deportation would be unduly harsh for "C".'

(FWIW: That’s actually more than a year-old story, it’s been going on for twenty-five years and includes a two0-year stay in prison for dad after he was caught with $250,000 of Albanian mob money — see below)

Full-on Burka lady in France complains she can’t find a job

Imagine, as the hiring manager, you sit down for the interview, and your first question has to be: “Who are you and how do I know your documents match your actual identity, given that I can’t even see your face?”

Another standard interview question: “What are your hobbies?”

“Oh, you’re not even allowed outside of the house except for grocery runs, you say?”

UK National Trust Director-General Hilary McGrady: Migrants won’t go to the countryside because they don’t know what to wear

As part of the ongoing all-hands-on-deck efforts by the British government to get more migrants into the English countryside for some reason, which I have reported on previously in The Great Replacement Chronicles, UK National Trust Director-General Hilary McGrady explains that part of the problem with luring the migrants into the great outdoors is that they don’t know what to wear:

There’s been lots and lots of research with people from ethnic backgrounds asking them how do they feel about the countryside. Do they feel it’s a place for them. And the research comes back really clearly saying they don’t…  

[The reasons are] everything from: it’s not culturally something that they necessarily feel as if it’s part of what they do. When they go there,  they don’t necessarily know ‘what am I meant to wear, how do I behave? What’s a countryside code? I’ve never heard of it’. So there’s loads of different reasons why they don’t feel all the time confident.

*More on that Albanian mobster:

'A saga 25 years in the making!' Human rights lawyer in disbelief as infamous 'chicken nugget migrant' wins case

A human rights lawyer has expressed his disbelief at an asylum case "25 years in the making" as the illegal migrant at the centre of the infamous "chicken nugget" case has been allowed to remain in Britain.

Speaking to GB News, David Haigh stressed that if there was "any case that highlighted the failures of Government, the Home Office and the asylum system", this would be it.

Klevis Disha secured UK citizenship in 2007 after being granted exceptional leave to remain, and then indefinite leave to remain.

However, Disha was then jailed for two years after being caught with £250,000 in cash, known to be the proceeds of crime – sparking calls for him to be deported.

Disha's case was held up in the appeal system after arguing that his son, referred to in proceedings as "C", has special needs and "will not eat the type of chicken nuggets available abroad", so should remain in Britain.

Following a number of hearings, The Sun has now revealed that Disha has won the right to remain in Britain after First Tier Tribunal Judge Linda Veloso ruled in his favour, citing Article 8 of the Human Rights Act.

"They're on the other side"

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So says PowerLine’s John Hinderaker, and he’s not wrong

Many years ago, at the height of anti-Vietnam War agitation, leaders of the movement would say that they weren’t anti-war, they were on the other side.

I was reminded of that, watching this video of left-wingers cheering for American soldiers to be killed:

Whose side are the Democrats on? Well, look who they want to see attacked, and who they want protected:

New Jersey Gov Sherrill signs law barring ICE agents from wearing face coverings to shield identities

AND

Come and gone on Highview, 6 days

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38 Highview Avenue, Old Greenwich, listed at $2.895 million, pending after six days on the market. Pretty much untouched since the owners paid $1.725 million for it when it was newly renovated, it’s still in fine condition and, using an inflation calendar (the official government one has been down for a while now, I presume courtesy of Schumer and his gang) the current value of that $1.725 is $2.565 million, so, okay, but these numbers continue to surprise me — I can’t seem to adjust my concept of the (ever-diminishing) value of a dollar.

Mark your calendars, get out your tennis sneakers — it’s a Saturday in the Park party!

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The Ladies of Greenwich Invisible have announced that a “No Kings” protest and rally in Greenwich is set for Saturday, March 28 at 2:00pm in front of the Havemeyer building on Greenwich Avenue.

The rally is intended to be part of a mass nationwide mobilization to protest the second administration of President Donald Trump.

“We don’t really know what we’ll be protesting yet”, a masked woman who claimed to be the leader of the ladies club told FWIW, “it could be Cuba, or Venezuela, or Iran, or black lives, although think that one’s kinda past its sell-by date, or maybe our new friends from south of the border. Anti-disirregardless, it’s really just Trump, Trump, Trump, so make up a sign with whatever cause you like, or use one of our pre-printed ones: it’s a come as you hate party.”

Indivisible is part of the No Kings Coalition, which also includes the ACLU and 50501. The protests aim to oppose actions deemed authoritarian, including immigration policies and mandatory library ID cards.