In a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing on February 13, Air Force General Gregory M. Guillot, Commander of U.S. Northern Command (Northcom) and North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD), highlighted three topics that have “direct implications for homeland defense.”
General Guillot said the growing cooperation between the U.S.’s global adversaries, the ongoing threat of non-state actors continuing to target the homeland, and the increasing prevalence of evolving technologies in the hands of competitors all presented real-world challenges for Northcom and NORAD.
Speaking on evolving technologies, he highlighted the growth in UAS as posing “a growing threat to safety and security,” which has forced Northcom and NORAD to adjust rapidly. Both organizations have shifted resources and personnel to establish dedicated C-UAS operations branches within their headquarters.
In his written statement to the committee, the General noted that “the widespread availability of small drones, coupled with a complicated regulatory structure and limitations on UAS countermeasures based on concerns for flight safety and privacy, has created significant vulnerabilities that have been exploited by known and unknown actors.”
Emphasizing the UAS threat, General Guillot told the committee that there were 350 UAS detections over a total of 100 different U.S. military installations in 2024. Currently, just over half of U.S. installations fall under U.S. Code Section 130i, defining them as “covered” installations that are allowed to defend themselves from UAS incursions.
In response, he requested that Section 130i be reviewed and its coverage expanded to all military installations. He underlined the benefits of extending the range of self-defense beyond installation boundaries, allowing defensive operators to defeat incoming threats before reaching them.
Post Image Credit: United States Senate Committee on Armed Services.
