Free Republic

On a clear evening this January, flights out of Miami, Orlando and Fort Lauderdale suddenly ground to a halt. The culprit wasn’t weather or a software glitch — it was a rocket launch. SpaceX’s Starship, the largest spacecraft ever built, had lifted off from Texas and exploded mid-flight, raining 100 tons of debris at over 13,250 miles per hour over the Caribbean. The FAA swiftly issued an unprecedented order: a temporary freeze on air traffic at four major Florida airports. Then another Starship exploded on its next test launch in March. According to FAA data reported by Reuters, the disruption...

… “130(i)” here refers to that subsection of Title 10 of the U.S. Code (10 USC 130i), which covers current authorities for the “protection of certain facilities and assets from unmanned aircraft.”Under 130i, the U.S. military has the authority to take “action” to defend against drones including with measures to “disrupt control of the unmanned aircraft system or unmanned aircraft, without prior consent, including by disabling the unmanned aircraft system or unmanned aircraft by intercepting, interfering, or causing interference with wire, oral, electronic, or radio communications used to control the unmanned aircraft system or unmanned aircraft” and the “use reasonable...

In this explosive RAW FEED segment, Gary Franchi exposes an ongoing aerial invasion over American skies. From New Jersey to Oregon, mysterious drones are infiltrating restricted military airspace with no resistance, while the Biden administration’s response borders on negligence. This isn’t just another UFO story—it’s potentially the greatest breach of U.S. airspace since 9/11. Frustrated residents are taking action, shooting at these unidentified craft, while DHS chief Mayorkas claims he "lacks authority" to respond. The same officials who left our borders unguarded now say they’re powerless to protect our skies. The evidence is clear. Police helicopters pursue these objects, only...

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has restricted all drone flights over the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. The FAA’s move comes after residents of northern New Jersey spotted mysterious drones in the night sky throughout November. The ban on flying drones over Trump National Golf Club was initiated on November 22 and will last until December 6. Any unauthorized drone flying over the Picatinny Arsenal Military Base in Rockaway is also included in the drone flying ban.

BUCHAREST, Romania (AP) – Romania raised fighter jets early on Saturday for the second time this week after an unidentified object breached its airspace by the Black Sea, the Ministry of Defense said. The small object was detected over the Black Sea moving toward Romania, a European Union and NATO member, at around 2:30 a.m, the ministry said in a statement.

Cartels have started an air war barely south of the US border — how long before it spills over, thanks to the Biden-Harris border erasure? As with terrorism, it’s a question not of if but when. A cell of the Sinaloa Cartel, Los Salazar, has begun using drones to drop bombs on a rival group Los Pelones, in the town of Sonoyta — two miles from the US border. Central Park, by comparison, runs 2.5 miles north-south. Which means US residents are thisclose to an ongoing battle between parastatal organizations that just went aerial. It’s like something out of Blade...

Multiple reports on Tuesday indicated the governments of Jordan and Saudi Arabia communicated to rogue terror sponsor Iran it could not use their airspace to attack Israel in response to the elimination of Hamas “political” chief Ismail Haniyeh. The Middle East is anticipating a major attack on Israel by Iran in response to Haniyeh’s killing. Iran itself is repeatedly threatening to execute its “holy wrath” in an imminent attack on Israel, though it has yet to make a move at press time outside of various attacks by its affiliated terror proxies. Iran’s neighbors would not help Iran conduct missile attacks...

North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) announced that the U.S. military intercepted two Russian and two Chinese bombers in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on Wednesday ahead of Joe Biden's speech.NORAD detected, tracked, and intercepted two Russian TU-95 and two PRC H-6 military aircraft operating in the Alaska Air Defense Identification Zone (ADIZ) on July 24, 2024. NORAD fighter jets from the United States and Canada conducted the intercept.The Russian and PRC aircraft remained in international airspace and did not enter American or Canadian sovereign airspace. This Russian and PRC activity in the Alaska ADIZ is not seen...

The Lake County Sheriff’s Department in Florida reported a 72-year-old man has been arrested for allegedly shooting down a Walmart delivery drone. Dennis Winn, 72, was arrested after he allegedly shot down a Walmart Delivery drone that was making mock deliveries in his neighborhood. According to Local 12 News, Winn fired shots at the drone because he believed it was watching him. Winn is being charged with”shooting at an aircraft, criminal mischief with damage over $1,000, and discharging a firearm on public or residential property.” Despite taking a bullet, the drone was able to fly back safely to Walmart, but...

The U.S. Federal Aviation Administration said on Wednesday it will relocate control of the Newark, New Jersey, airspace area to Philadelphia to address staffing issues ... The FAA, which has struggled with air traffic staffing issues, said it and the National Air Traffic Controllers Association (NATCA) signed a memorandum to relocate control of Newark at New York Terminal Radar Approach Control (TRACON) (N90) to Philadelphia Tower/TRACON by the end of June. The FAA said the change will help "meet continued traffic demand in the busy Northeast Corridor." Several controllers are expected to voluntarily transfer to Philadelphia. New York TRACON is...

Langley Air Force Base, located in one of the most strategic areas of the country, across the Chesapeake Bay from the sprawling Naval Station Norfolk and the open Atlantic, was at the epicenter of waves of mysterious drone incursions that occurred throughout December. The War Zone has been investigating these incidents and the response to them for months. We know that they were so troubling and persistent that they prompted bringing in advanced assets from around the U.S. government, including one of NASA's WB-57F high-flying research planes. Now the U.S. Air Force has confirmed to us that they did indeed...

More than 1,000 drones per month are crossing into US airspace near the border with Mexico, a top general told lawmakers Thursday. The number of unmanned drone incursions is “alarming” and presents a “growing” potential threat to national security, Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot, the commander of North American Defense Command and US Northern Command, said during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing. “The number of incursions was something that was alarming to me as I took command last month,” Guillot said in response to a question from Sen. Ted Budd (R-NC). “I don’t know the actual number – I...

The ranch owner suing hunters for trespassing through his airspace to access public land says he would drop his damage claim of some $7.75 million if a judge rules in his favor in a landmark corner-crossing case. “[P]ursuit of money damages against the individual Defendants in this case detracts from important legal issues,” Eshelman’s new filing states. “[I]f the Court rules in favor of [Eshelman], declares the Defendants’ actions as being actionable trespass, and restrains further trespass, then [Eshelman] will withdraw money damage claims … in the interest of justice and judicial economy.” The hunters say they never touched Elk...

IDF helicopters and fighter jets were scrambled Sunday night, after an unidentified aircraft crossed into Israeli airspace from Syria. The aircraft was monitored by the IAF throughout the incident, an IDF spokesperson said. The aircraft was show down in an open area, the spokesperson added, saying that the aircraft in question did not pose a threat at any stage. According to protocol, an alarm was not activated. The incident is under review. IDF forces are currently searching the area for remains...

Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu today (Thursday) welcomed the authorization for Israeli planes to fly over Oman. "The Far East is not so far away and the skies are no longer the limit. This is a day of great news for Israeli aviation. Israel has, in effect, become the main transit point between Asia and Europe," Netanyahu said. "We have worked to open the airspace, first over Saudi Arabia, and from 2018 when I visited Oman, to add Oman as well so that we can fly directly to India and on to Australia. This was achieved today, after considerable effort, including...

Laura Rosenberger, President Joe Biden’s top adviser on matters related to China and Taiwan, will step down in March, Bloomberg reported Wednesday, citing White House officials. Rosenberger serves as a special assistant to the president and senior director on the National Security Council and has guided the president amid Washington’s increasing tensions with Beijing and will see out her term as the administration grapples with fallout from the shooting down of a Chinese spy balloon in America’s coastal waters on Feb. 4. However, Rosenberger’s plans to step down preceded the balloon invading U.S. airspace and sparking bipartisan concern in Congress...

Air Moldova announced through its social media accounts Tuesday the country's airspace has been temporarily closed, with some flights being canceled."We are waiting for the resumption of flights. Today's schedule will undergo changes," the company wrote without giving details. Moldovan media outlets have meanwhile said the country's airspace had been breached by one or more drones earlier in the day, which would make the second significant airspace breach in under a week, after a Russian cruise missile fired from the Black Sea briefly briefly entered Moldovan air space days ago.Some reports have indicated "a large number of drones" were observed...

Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin claimed on Monday that American high-altitude balloons have flown through Chinese airspace more than ten times since the beginning of 2022. Wang contrasted China’s supposedly “reasonable and professional” response to these incursions with the United States shooting down the Chinese spy balloon that flew over North America two weeks ago and the destruction of several other unidentified flying objects over the weekend. Wang claimed to know nothing about the other UFOs. “We have made it clear time and again that the entry of the Chinese civilian unmanned airship into U.S. airspace was a purely...

China has gone on the offensive with its rhetoric in regard to the multiple balloons or else 'unidentified objects' reported shot down by the US military in the last days over North America. China has been under pressure to respond for more than a week now, as the Chinese 'spy' balloon saga has pervaded international headlines.Its foreign ministry on Monday decried US hypocrisy in asserting that the United States breached Chinese airspace without permission at least 10 times with high-altitude balloons since early 2022. This as Beijing officials have suggested they are currently tracking more."It is nothing rare for U.S....

Saturday, the FAA issued a Notice to Air Missions (or whatever they’re calling it this week) closing northern Montana airspace “to support Department of Defense activities.” According to FlightRadar24.com, a USAF KC-135 tanker flying without a callsign is boring holes in the sky in the restricted airspace. This implies something is on the way to that location that will need gas.The North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) has declined to provide further information.The newly restricted area is on the same route as the Chinese spy balloon shot down a week ago.This comes only hours after a US F-22 splashed another...