The recent rise of “mystery drones” seen in the sky over the Northeastern U.S. has escalated into a potential national security issue … prompting a major U.S. Air Force base to close its airspace due to drone sightings in the area late Friday night into Saturday.
Airspace over Ohio’s Wright-Patterson Air Force Base was off-limits for about four hours, according to an Air Force spokesperson, prompted by reported sightings. Authorities continue to monitor the situation.
In new audio obtained by TMZ … the controller at the base is heard telling an airplane to divert its course — “use extreme caution for heavy UAS movement on the base, security forces is handling the situation.” The controller advises the base was keeping lights low so potential drones in the area would be visible. UAS refers to “unmanned aerial systems.”
An Air Force spokesman later said … “To date, installation leadership has determined none of the incursions impacted base residents, facilities or assets.” The base is located about 20 miles northeast of Dayton.