U.S. Government’s UFO Office Confirms It Has Not Received Information On ‘Drone’ Incursions Over Langley Air Force Base, As New Details Emerge
Written by Christopher Sharp - 11 May 2024
The U.S. government's Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) office, known as the All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), has informed Liberation Times that it has received no information or reports regarding apparent drone incursions over Langley Air Force Base in December 2023.
One witness, who provided testimony to the FBI and captured the objects on film, reported sightings of orb and saucer-shaped objects circling and hovering above and near the base on 14 December. As of now, the United States Air Force (USAF) has not disclosed how these objects were classified as 'uncrewed aerial systems' (UAS), their origin, or the identity of those controlling them.
An AARO spokesperson told Liberation Times, ‘AARO has not yet received a report or any information on this incident.’
Although the USAF would not be expected to report identified objects to the AARO, it is unknown how they were identified as drones.
Furthermore, other reported UAS incidents have been reported to the AARO, such as the drone swarms over U.S. naval assets in 2019, which were classified as UAS at the time, despite never being positively confirmed as such.
According to one intelligence source who spoke to Liberation Times, the USAF might have chosen not to share information with the AARO due to a perceived lack of trust in its efforts and genuine intent in solving cases in good faith.
The Navy is understood to be taking a similar stance towards the AARO. Following a recent Congressional meeting with the AARO’s acting director Timothy Phillips, Representative Eric Burlison told reporter Matt Laslo:
“When [Rep. Tim] Burchett asked about some of the data, they said that they had not received data from the Navy. That's pretty alarming.”
Jonathan Butner, a witness to the purported drone swarm over Langley Air Force Base in December 2023, shared his account of the incident with Liberation Times.
On the evening of December 14th, Butner, who has also told his story to journalist Ross Coulthart, was stargazing on the west bank of the James River in eastern Virginia.
At around 7.15 pm while casting his gaze eastward across the river toward the Virginia Peninsula, where Langley Air Force Base is located, he noticed peculiar orb-shaped objects in the sky:
“It started when I saw a blinking red and orange light. And then another one came in behind them before more followed. I then began to see four or five orbs in a row.
“In total, I saw forty orb-shaped objects which were car-sized and travelling at around the same height as a Cessna would fly. I did not see wings or rotors.
“They were blinking this reddish-orange colour. They weren’t like little small drones that you can pull up from a backpack. These were large orbs.”
Butner told Liberation Times that the objects were reminiscent of what has been dubbed ‘the San Diego Sphere’.
Butner added:
“They all followed the same path. The only thing that would change is when they got over Langley. Some of them would stop and hover at differing altitudes, whereas others would slowly travel over.
“I didn’t notice any commercial or military aircraft in the area. Usually, there are quite a few commercial and military aircraft associated with the base and the nearby Williamsburg Airport.”
The objects, according to Butner, provoked a reaction from the base:
“I started seeing these giant searchlights coming up from the ground from the base and waving back and forth at the objects.”
Butner told Liberation Times that the orbs were followed by a larger saucer-shaped object, flying closer to the ground and in closer proximity to his location circling between the peninsular and western bank of the river:
“Then I saw a larger object, coming south from the James River. Instead of going to the east and north of Langley, it would come up right past Newport News, and towards Fort Eustis before then circling by Surry Nuclear Power Plant. It was saucer-shaped.
“It had a semi-circular orange glowing bottom and on the top had three glowing lights, which kind of looked like windows. On the edge of the craft, there was a white light that would blink very rapidly and erratically.
“The object was lower than the orbs - not much higher than the tree line and I could see it very clearly. Whenever I see a Black Hawk helicopter I can hear something, but with this craft I heard nothing.
“It seemed like this object was observing the orbs, which were circling over Langley.”
In this video, filmed by Jonathan Butner, he describes two orbs pulsing at different rates and speeds over Langley Air Force Base.
In this second video, Butner describes seeing several orbs, either hovering over or moving slowly past Langley.
According to Butner, this third video shows a ‘saucer’ object descending and moving along the far shore of the James River.
According to Butner, the fourth video shows the saucer object travelling along the bank of the James River, close to Fort Eustis.
Butner witnessed the objects for two hours flying around the base.
While none of the videos provided by Butner to Liberation Times clearly depict the shapes of the objects he describes, Butner explained that he could distinctly see their shapes in person. However, he noted that they appeared fuzzy when viewed through a camera.
Credit: Brett Salonia - Map showing routes taken by the objects Butner witnessed on 14 December 2023
A spokesperson from Langley confirmed the incidents to Liberation Times, echoing a message provided to other publications.
However, they were unable to furnish any details regarding investigations or whether any responsible party had been identified for the incursions.
The spokesperson stated:
“The installation first observed UAS activities the evening of December 6 and experienced multiple incursions throughout the month of December. The number of UASs fluctuated and they ranged in size/configuration. None of the incursions appeared to exhibit hostile intent but anything flying in our restricted airspace can pose a threat to flight safety. The FAA was made aware of the UAS incursions.
“To protect operational security, we do not discuss impacts to operations.
“We don’t discuss our specific force protection measures but retain the right to protect the installation. Langley continues to monitor our air space and work with local law enforcement and other federal agencies to ensure the safety of base personnel, facilities, and assets.”
Of note, Langley together with Fort Eustis are known as Joint Base Langley–Eustis. Units based there include the Air Force’s 363rd Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing and 480th Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Wing.
But despite their ‘comprehensive’ intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities, commanders were forced to deploy one of NASA’s WB-57F high-flying research planes to assist in tackling the objects.
Liberation Times also spoke with the Hampton Police Department, who confirmed the FBI’s jurisdiction regarding any investigative efforts:
‘Joint Base Langley AFB and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI) are the lead agencies with jurisdiction regarding the matter and we defer to them.’
The FBI declined to comment when approached by Liberation Times. However, Butner confirmed that he did speak to FBI agents to provide his testimony, though as of now, there has been no follow-up from the agents.
Despite the disruption caused to the Base, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and nearby Williamsburg International Airport confirmed that they experienced no flight disruption over the area in December 2023.
The FAA told Liberation Times:
‘We don’t have any reports of air traffic disruptions at Newport News /Williamsburg International Airport in December 2023.’
Despite Butner seeing an object travelling by Surry Nuclear Power Plant, no incident was reported to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission (NRC).
An NRC spokesperson told Liberation Times:
‘The NRC regulations in 10 CFR Part 73 require licensees to notify the NRC of suspicious activity at licensed facilities. Until January 2024, reporting of drone sightings was voluntary, and we did not receive a report from Surry on the dates you specified.
‘The NRC regulations now require reporting of drone flyovers within posted or restricted areas and within close proximity to the facility (i.e., above or near).’
In a conversation with journalist Matt Laslo, Senator Mark Kelly, a member of the Senate's Armed Services and Intelligence Committees, suggested that the incursions could potentially be attributed to hobbyists or, more alarmingly, foreign nationals engaging in surveillance activities.
“So often we don’t know who these drones belong to. My suspicion is a lot of it is hobbyists.
“But some of it is also very likely to be foreign nationals that are doing surveillance with low-cost systems that are somewhat expendable. And it's hard to track ‘em. It's also hard to take them down.”
However, drone enthusiasts from Virginia, where the incidents occurred, voiced skepticism about the possibility of a hobbyist or foreign surveillance explanation.
Tommy Turner, a member of the Facebook group ‘Drone Pilots of Virginia’ told Liberation Times that the government’s story was suspect due to the sophisticated drone detection provisions available to the USAF and the use of similar systems at Formula One events:
‘The whole story is suspect. Most military bases and sensitive government facilities have sophisticated drone detection and anti-drone technology.
‘While it might be possible to fly over or onto base it is very likely the drone will be disrupted and if controlled locally, the operator's location pinpointed. If the drone(s) are brought down, the resources available to investigate the origin are vast.
‘There are examples of this type of technology at work at the Las Vegas Formula 1 event.’
Liberation Times found one company, COPTRZ, which was tasked with protecting a Formula One event in the United Kingdom.
On its case study page, the company detailed how it retrieved drone serial numbers, identified the drone models, and detected the individuals operating them. The case study read:
‘Multiple radiofrequency and optical forms of detection were used to provide a complete solution to all UAVs.
‘The technology was able to retrieve details on the drones’ serial numbers and model. It also located its route, altitude and speed. It was even able to detect the individuals operating them. This allowed them to inform the organisers of any unplanned flight activity.’
This stands in contrast with the Langley drone incursions which persisted despite the counter UAS technologies available to the USAF, such as ‘dronebusters’, used by Security Forces protecting installations.
The dronebuster is described by the USAF as a ‘handheld non-kinetic mitigation device that can detect groups of one to five UAS and jam signal between drone and controller.’
Other countermeasures available to the USAF allow security personnel to take control of drones and safely land them so that personnel can take custody.
Another member of the Virginia drone group, Justin Malveaux, also cast doubt on the notion that any of the activity over Langley could be attributed to hobbyists or foreign surveillance after reviewing the details of the incursions:
‘It's an absolute certainty they'll be caught and it's rather easy. I don't think it's hobbyists.
‘This is much more serious than flying over a stadium. You risk additional federal charges flying over a military installation. That's a risk most won't take.’
Malveaux added:
‘[I] highly doubt that's a foreign government (spy). They would have covered or disabled the lights to avoid detection.’
Intelligence and defense sources have informed Liberation Times that the possibility of foreign surveillance activity remains questionable.
This skepticism arises from the fact that the objects were emitting light rather than switching to dark mode and recording through night vision.
This case represents just one of many UAS or UAP events reported over U.S. military installations since the 1950s.
It is one of many cases involving craft of unknown origin witnessed over the U.S. in recent years.
Liberation Times has also received one report of mysterious lights seen over Holloman Air Force Base on 10 April 2024. Although when questioned, the Pentagon stated it had received no reports of UAS or UAP over the base.