Pentagon Expands U.S. Base Commanders’ Authority to Counter Drone Threats

This SOFX Report discusses new counter-drone guidance from the Pentagon that expands U.S. base commanders’ authority to protect installations and personnel by removing prior fence-line limits and allowing broader defensive action.

The guidance treats unauthorized drone surveillance as an immediate threat and allows commanders to respond before drones cross installation boundaries, with Brigadier General Matt Ross stating, “Drones are a defining threat for our time.”

Ross added that “countering drones does not start and stop at the fence line,” underscoring the shift toward earlier and more flexible responses. The policy also strengthens interagency data sharing and requires commanders to issue site-specific operating procedures within 60 days.

U.S. Northern Command head General Gregory Guillot stated that the department observes about one or two drone incursions per day on military sites. another spokesperson stated that “230 drone incidents were reported at military installations between September 2023 and September 2024. That number jumped by 82 percent to around 420 incidents during roughly the same period the following year.”