Ukraine's Stunning Drone Strike a 'Wake-Up Moment' for US

Ukraine's drone attack on parked aircraft deep inside Russia was a spectacular success—but it's likely to cause sleepless nights for military officials in other countries, including the US. The Washington Post reports that the strike brought the "chilling realization" that the US is vulnerable to a similar attack. The US military has plenty of aircraft parked outside, and drone attacks could also hit critical infrastructure. Ukraine estimates that the relatively low-cost attack, in which drones were remotely launched from trucks, caused $7 billion in damage.

• "It has to make you much more aware of how vulnerable we as a nation are," Republican Sen. John Boozman, chair of the subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, tells Politico. "The Ukrainians defeated the Russian navy without owning any ships, and now they've decimated their air force with virtually no air force of their own."

• American bases overseas, especially in the Pacific, are seen as especially vulnerable to potential attacks. Hudson Institute analysts Thomas Shugart and Timothy Walton warned earlier this year that China has invested heavily in hardened aircraft shelters, while protection for US bombers is "akin to sunshades," the Wall Street Journal reports.
• Officials say the military is already aware of the vulnerabilities and has anti-drone measures in place. Lawmakers from both parties said efforts need to be stepped up. On Tuesday, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Allvin called the Ukrainian strike a "wake-up moment" that could affect budget talks, Politico reports. "Seemingly impenetrable locations, maybe, are not," he said.
• Retired Gen. Glen VanHerck, former commander of US Northern Command, tells the Post that unidentified drones flew near F-22 Raptor fighter jets "sitting in the open" at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia for 17 nights in 2023. "How vulnerable were they if somebody really wanted to take hostile action?" He says Russia or China could try to infiltrate the US to build weapons within the country. "Or if they put a container ship carrying drones into the Port of Long Beach or somewhere in close proximity to our critical infrastructure, including nuclear ports, that would be really hard to detect," he says.

(More drone strike stories.)