Unauthorized drones detected over US Air Force base housing nuclear-capable B-52 bombers: military(Barksdale)

Fox News ^ | March 20, 2026 | Brie Stimson F

[rdl6989]

A U.S. Air Force Base that houses B-52 bombers capable of carrying nuclear weapons detected "multiple unauthorized drones" in its vicinity earlier this month, a base official confirmed to Fox News Digital.

"Barksdale Air Force Base detected multiple unauthorized drones operating in our airspace during the week of March 9th," a Barksdale AFB spokesperson told Fox News Digital on Friday.

The spokesperson added: "Flying a drone over a military installation is not only a safety issue, it is a criminal offense under federal law."

Base officials are working closely with federal and local law enforcement agencies to investigate the drone sightings, the spokesperson said.

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TOPICS: US: Louisiana; War
KEYWORDS: aviation; barksdale; drones

[rdl6989]

Posting again with correct link.

[BenLurkin]

There is no doubt in my mind that one of the reasons the Democrats opened the borders in 2020 was to allow in terrorists cells.

[Governor Dinwiddie]

Air Force can't handle some drones. Better call in the Cajun Navy.

[Jane Long]

Barksdale is east of Shreveport in Louisiana and encompasses 22,000 acres with a population of around 15,000.

[Da Coyote]

Were they Chinese drones or were they Chinese drones?
Gee, wonder who’s the controller(s)?

[rellic]

I was stationed at Minot AFB.
I fixed B-52 avionics and was
familiar with the alert area,
since I had to enter there periodically
to fix an aircraft.

I used to fly radio controlled gliders
They are quiet and not as obnoxious
as powered R/C planes are.
That area was the best place
to fly it on base as the alert area is
cleared so no one can approach unseen.
My R/C glider failed one
day and lost half it’s wing. It death
spiraled into the middle of the
“Christmas tree”
in the alert area.

I sheepishly approached the perimeter
for entry. They ID’ed me and handed me
what was left of my glider. I was on the
authorized access list so they knew me.
I was told to contact My squadron
commander the next working day.
All my Commander said was “Sgt,
find another place to fly your toy planes.
OFF BASE!”

It could have been a lot more serious.

[bigbob]

Who’s gonna ask for authorization to fly drones over a nuke base?

[PubliusMM]

Cajun Navy? That sounds like a good solution.
So, why don’t they a crap load of debris through which to sort? Asking for a few million friends...

[DFG]

Minot Why Not

My Mom was born in 1937 in Velva,ND 22 miles from Minot. We had to watch Lawrence Welk (born in Strasburg, ND) every Saturday night when I was growing up. Eric Sevareid (born in Velva, ND and CBS newsman) was an elementary school classmate of grandma.

[HKMk23]

AF security needs to learn and be equipped to shoot Trap.
Just not with target loads.

[doc maverick]

“There is no doubt in my mind that one of the reasons the Democrats opened the borders in 2020 was to allow in terrorists cells.”
I agree. These drones could be operated by the cartels, the CCP or Iranians in this country. I bet it’s Iranian operatives.
We need to start shooting them down!
They finally shot down a CCP balloon that traveled through Oregon to other states, but it took forever for them to do it.

[basalt]

i just wish we still had 700 B-52’s....that is one deadly platform .

[SaxxonWoods]

I guess the obvious answer, “Shoot them down!” is not viable. I wonder why. What if one or more of them is carrying a bomb? Why have restricted airspace if you aren’t going to enforce it? They wouldn’t let a hanglider fly over with a bazooka, I hope.

[rellic]

Actually I thought it was
“Why not Minot?”.
My requested shift while in the
military was always Grave
yard shift(No daily Morning inspections).
If any of you have been in the military
you know what a pain both are.

Do you know how cold it is in
mid winter ND
on the flight line
at 0500 hrs, swapping out an
AS653 Radar antenna on the nose
of a KC-135 and no heat?
Sometimes lower than minus 60 degrees F
with wind chill.

Antenna:
https://www.radartutorial.eu/19.kartei/08.airborne/karte027.en.html

It was worth it to avoid
those daily inspections.

[libertylover]

Better call in the Cajun Navy.

Is that like the Ohio Navy?

[RoosterRedux]

It's worth noting that just because the base didn't say the drones were shot down doesn't mean they weren't shot down.

Their statement was carefully narrow:

• Confirmed the detections

• Noted the timeframe (week of March 9)

• Issued the legal warning about federal criminal offense

• Said they were working with federal and local law enforcement

• Reassured about security priorities

• Confirmed a brief shelter in place order

That's a very managed statement. It answers the "did something happen" question just enough to get ahead of the story, but volunteers nothing about outcomes–no mention of whether the drones were tracked to a landing point, intercepted, jammed, or recovered.

That silence on outcomes is itself informative. A base spokesperson who had nothing to hide operationally would have no reason not to say "the drones left the area and we have no further information"–that kind of closing statement is routine and reassuring. The absence of any resolution language leaves the outcome deliberately open.

It's a textbook limited hangout in the best sense–confirm enough to appear transparent, disclose nothing that matters operationally.

[antidemoncrat]

“Powerful US Navy laser weapon successfully neutralizes drone threats at sea”

We need to speed up production of this weapon and distribute them to cover all military installations and critical American sites.

[captmar-vell]

Thanks for the link.

I’m wondering if these have the same appearance as those seen over Fort McNair in the past week?

Are they merely using the more generic sounding ‘drone’ versus being something more mysterious, without saying UAP.

The fact they are encountering waves of these objects and none appear to be jammed or brought down (if they even tried) doesn’t make sense. Surely they would have tried but failed. Which then raises even more questions.