Insider Accounts Detail How Diamond-Formation Drone Swarm Evaded Detection, Triggering Wright-Patterson Airspace Shutdown
Written by Kyle Warfel and Christopher Sharp - 16 April 2025
Liberation Times has obtained witness statements from personnel at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, revealing that 'drones' flying in a diamond formation—while evading counter-drone detection systems—prompted the closure of the base’s airspace in December 2024.
Through a Freedom of Information Act request, the United States Air Force (USAF) released two witness statements and one incident report to Liberation Times from base personnel and 88th Security Forces Squadron members, responsible for guarding Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.
The incident report, which lists seven members of the 88th Security Forces Squadron, one Major General and one Brigadier General, shows how events unfolded on the night of 13 December 2024.
First Drone Sighted After 10 pm
The report describes how an Unmanned Aerial System (UAS) was observed hovering near the Hot Cargo Pads before flying towards the base’s West Ramp at 2208 hours.
It further notes that the device was ‘black, with four (4) propellers, was roughly 6 inches in size, and had alternating red and green lights.’
The report then adds how the UAS flew over ‘Fire Station #2 at roughly 20 feet in the air’, before visual contact was lost.
Diamond Formation Observed / Detection System Fails
However, visual contact was then regained with three additional drones spotted ‘flying in a diamond formation’.
Despite the sightings, the report confirms that ‘no objects were visible on the NINJA system’.
The USAF’s NINJA system is designed to detect, track, and alert security teams to unauthorized drones, using integrated sensors to protect restricted airspace—but in this case, it failed to detect intruding objects - something which may cause alarm within the Pentagon.
The USAF, NASA, and FBI also noted this failure to detect drones in a joint report issued after similar incursions over Langley Air Force Base in Virginia in December 2023.
This suggests that the devices observed over Langley Air Force Base, RAF Lakenheath—where USAF and UK Ministry of Defence personnel grappled with similar drone incursions in late 2024—and Wright-Patterson Air Force Base may possess advanced capabilities.
Airspace Shut Down
The report explains that, following unsuccessful sweeps around the base and confirmation that no incoming flights had been detected on radar, ’at 2230 the Air Traffic Control Tower relayed that Wright Patterson air space was shut down.’
Five minutes later, the diamond formation was observed flying away from the base towards Highway 4, north of the installation. After confirming that no suspicious packages had been dropped by the drones, the incident was subsequently ‘terminated.’
Firsthand Account Details Quadcopter Drone
A witness statement from a member of the 88th Security Forces Squadron echoes the details of the incident report from 13 December 2024, while providing additional context. It reveals that the witness first observed a ‘black small sized quad-copter drone, with flashing red and green lights flying at rapid speed’ at 2208 hours.
The witness conducted a sweep of the area in search of a potential operator but was unsuccessful. Shortly afterwards, they observed four ‘quad-copter drones’ with red and green lights flying in a ‘tight’ diamond formation.
Witness Illuminates Formation Of Drones, Notices Loss Of Radio Strength
Using their car’s spotlight system, the witness directed a beam of light onto the drones. Upon being illuminated, the witness noted that they ‘lowered in altitude, gained altitude and flew away at rapid speed’ until visual contact was lost.
One potential key detail from the witness describes how ‘during the course of following the drones’ they noticed a ‘significant loss in radio strength and was delayed in giving communication until the drones were about 250 feet away.’
A second statement—undated—reiterates previous details about the red and green lights and the diamond formation. It adds, ‘we turned our vehicle around [and] used our spotlight to see four drones flying in a diamond formation,’ suggesting the individual was accompanying the witness referenced in the earlier account from the night of 13 December.
In December 2024, multiple news outlets reported that drone incursions had prompted the closure of airspace around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio on the night of Friday, 13 December.
On 17 December, the base issued a statement confirming that additional ‘small unmanned aerial systems’ had been observed in and around the base during the late evening of 16 December and early morning of 17 December 2024.
Wider Trend Of Disturbing Drone Incursions
The incursions over Wright-Patterson Air Force Base formed part of a broader pattern of incidents in December 2024, during which drones were sighted over sensitive U.S. facilities on the mainland, as well as in the UK and Germany.
The Hill opinion contributor Marik Von Rennenkampff, who has been outspoken relating the U.S. government’s handling of such incidents, told Liberation Times:
“The latest reporting of unknown “drones” flying with complete impunity over Wright-Patt, the U.S. Air Force’s most strategically important domestic base, only deepens the mystery of these years-long incidents
“At the same time, why, just as in previous incursions, has no imagery or video of these “drones” over WPAFB emerged? Ultimately, the question is: Who is behind these extremely risky invasions of sensitive airspace?”
Similar drone activity was also reported in August 2024 over the Air Force’s highly sensitive Plant 42 in California, a site where cutting-edge technologies are developed by contractors including Lockheed Martin and Northrop Grumman. Those incursions led to a dramatic off-base pursuit of one of the drones to track its final destination with negative results.
In December 2024, a Department of Defense statement acknowledged that officials from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, and FAA had ‘been unable to determine who is responsible for flying the drones.’
In January 2025, the Trump administration stated that the FAA had approved the drones for research purposes and that many belonged to local residents. However, this claim is questionable, as the FAA later imposed temporary flight restrictions over parts of New Jersey and New York.
In January 2025, a policy brief provided to the incoming Trump administration proposed the creation of a senior White House advisor, referred to as the Emerging All-Domain Technologies (EADT) “czar,” to coordinate U.S. action in addressing the dual challenges of advanced Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS) and Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP), collectively termed EADT.
The brief, drafted by the UAP Disclosure Fund’s Lue Elizondo, who previously led the Pentagon’s UAP investigation, known as the Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program, or AATIP, stated:
‘UAP can no longer be distinguished entirely from UAS and other EADT, hobbling our domain awareness and response. The presence of UAP and UAS around U.S. nuclear facilities is especially disturbing, jeopardizing our strategic deterrent and international stability.’
It remains unclear whether the Trump administration plans to establish this position to address the growing threats posed by UAS and UAP.
Notes:
The incident report can be downloaded by clicking here.
Witness Statement One can be downloaded by clicking here.
Witness Statement Two can be downloaded by clicking here.
