Can the US protect itself from a Ukraine-style drone attack?

(NewsNation) — Ukraine’s coordinated drone attack connected Russian targets this play raises questions astir the U.S. military’s quality to support itself from a akin attack, peculiarly aft mysterious drones were sighted successful New Jersey and different states past year.

Lt. Gen. Richard Newton, the erstwhile U.S. Air Force adjunct vice main of staff, says the existent defence strategy that shields the U.S. from specified attacks is lacking arsenic technologies proceed to evolve.

Newton, NewsNation’s elder nationalist information contributor, characterized Ukraine’s usage of 117 drones to onslaught 40 Russian bombers arsenic “extraordinary.” The mission, helium said, was executed with subject and intelligence-based precision, having been planned for much than a twelvemonth nether the absorption of President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

Newton said aspects of the cognition supply a blueprint for American subject defence officials arsenic they proceed to strategize for imaginable aboriginal subject attacks from adversaries specified arsenic Russia and China that volition apt impact drones and an array of atomic missiles.

“It’s thing we’ve got to beryllium disquieted about,” Newton told NewsNation.

Sunday’s Ukrainian drone onslaught took spot little than 2 weeks aft President Donald Trump outlined plans for the “Golden Dome”,  a “game-changing” multi-layered defence system officials assertion volition support the U.S. against astir 100% of attacks.

How the Golden Dome would support the United States

Newton said the super-technology that volition beryllium utilized successful the “Golden Dome” is what has been missing successful a subject rocket defence strategy archetypal introduced successful erstwhile President Ronald Reagan’s Strategic Defense Initiative successful 1983.

Officials accidental the "Golden Dome" volition beryllium a state-of-the-art strategy with land, oversea and abstraction sensors and interceptors.

Posters for the projected Golden Dome for America rocket defence shield are displayed earlier an lawsuit with President Donald Trump successful the Roosevelt Room astatine the White House, Monday, May 12, 2025, successful Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

The U.S. presently relies connected ground-level interceptors successful California and Alaska, which supply constricted extortion against countries similar North Korea, but not against larger-scale and much analyzable rocket attacks.

Yet, evolving exertion that reduces the detectability of force drones besides requires a stronger level of defence planning, Newton said. He compares the displacement to that of Improvised Explosive Devices utilized by overseas troops successful Iraq and Afghanistan during wars successful the Middle East, which led to the wounded and decease of American soldiers.

Drones correspond the adjacent iteration of weaponry that U.S. subject defence officials indispensable present contend with.

“We’re truly successful the midst of making definite for the adjacent respective years that we are equipped and susceptible of addressing a menace we didn’t see,” Newton said.

How Ukraine drone onslaught exploited Russian defence unsighted spot

NewsNation nationalist information contributor and erstwhile CIA serviceman and FBI peculiar cause Tracy Walder believes the well-executed Ukrainian ngo speaks much to however ill-prepared Russia was for specified an onslaught than an alarm for U.S. officials.

Part of the contented is the overriding American cognition of Russia arsenic a powerhouse, Walder said. While she is not convinced that the U.S. is wholly well-defended against a akin drone attack, the incidental besides proves to her that Russia is not omniscient, arsenic immoderate whitethorn believe.

Who is making drones similar the ones utilized successful Ukraine’s attack?

Walder expects Iran to beryllium among the apical producers of these drones, which she predicts volition beryllium sold to Russia and China. That puts the onus connected U.S. subject defence officials to proceed processing non-kinetic defenses, including GPS jammers designed to propulsion drones off-course arsenic good arsenic directed vigor weapons and lasers designed to support the U.S. 1 measurement up of its enemies.

Policemen of the 'Khyzhak' Brigade hole a Vampire combat drone for a transportation of ammunition and nutrient for their brothers-in-arms to a presumption adjacent a frontline municipality of Toretsk, amid Russia's onslaught connected Ukraine, successful Donetsk portion Ukraine, May 30, 2025. REUTERS/Anatolii Stepanov

Newton and Walder expect drone exertion to proceed to evolve, making them smaller and allowing them to alert astatine little elevations and with little vigor emissions. Such developments volition let the drones to stay disconnected the radars of defence systems similar “The Golden Dome.” 

“Drones alteration the look of warfare,” Walder told NewsNation, adding, “So I deliberation this is thing we’re going to person to woody with and evidently arsenic exertion evolves, we person to germinate successful presumption of our defenses.”

 New Jersey drone sightings substance public’s nationalist information concerns

The absorption connected drones continues arsenic unanswered questions stay surrounding the mysterious sightings that took spot past autumn successful New Jersey and different locations, including U.S. subject installations.

Despite pledging to supply answers about the drone sightings, Trump and his medication person yet to supply factual conclusions arsenic complaints implicit a deficiency of authorities transparency proceed from lawmakers and residents alike.

Luis Elizondo, the erstwhile person of the Defense Department’s precocious aerospace menace recognition program, told NewsNation successful April that the drone sightings are problematic fixed the chartless quality of the objects.

“Drones alert wholly unchallenged,” Elizondo said. “We inactive don’t cognize wherever they’re coming from, we inactive don’t cognize who’s down the wheel. We inactive don’t cognize wherever they’re going. This is simply a large problem. And we’ve known astir it for a agelong time.”

The Ukrainian drone onslaught adds to those concerns, said Newton, who called the “known unknown” facet of the issues arsenic perplexing.

While helium is not calling for Americans to statesman gathering underground bunkers successful fearfulness of imaginable drone attacks, helium said, "It’s besides compelling to marque definite that we are defending against it.”

Walder understands however the nationalist confuses a deficiency of authorities transparency with a deficiency of a program to make effectual drone defence strategies.

Despite a deficiency of authoritative conclusions, Walder hypothesizes that the drones spotted past autumn were so launched by the U.S. subject arsenic a mode of investigating detection levels arsenic portion of its defence readying against imaginable attacks.

But aft multiple national agencies, including the FBI, issued a associated connection that lone concluded that the authorities had ruled retired that drones spotted successful the U.S. originated from overseas adversaries without giving arsenic overmuch accusation arsenic the nationalist was seeking, she understands the levels of nationalist concern.

“The occupation is that the nationalist sees that arsenic conscionable ineptitude,” Walder said. “When we look astatine that, the nationalist says, ‘Well, bash you adjacent cognize however to support america against these,’ and ‘are you adjacent susceptible erstwhile you can’t adjacent get the messaging right?’”

However, she said that arsenic drone warfare continues, playing things adjacent to the vest is critical.

“We don’t request our enemies — oregon adjacent our friends — knowing what we’re doing to beryllium capable to way these things,” Walder said.