Domestic Military Base Security

U.S. officials have detected multiple unidentified drones in recent days near Fort Lesley J. McNair in Southwest Washington, D.C., a base that houses the National Defense University and some senior administration officials and has reportedly been used to lodge Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Secretary of War Pete Hegseth amid heightened security. Heather Chairez, media chief for Joint Task Force–National Capital Region and the U.S. Army Military District of Washington, confirmed to Fox News that authorities are aware of the sightings and are working with law-enforcement and interagency partners to monitor and investigate them. She said there is currently "no credible threat" to Fort McNair but emphasized that the military will adjust force-protection measures as needed. The incidents come as several U.S. bases, including Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst in New Jersey and MacDill Air Force Base in Florida, have raised force-protection levels and MacDill has experienced multiple recent security alerts, all against the backdrop of the Iran war and an expanding Iranian and proxy drone campaign against U.S. and allied targets. Online, the sightings are feeding speculation about possible foreign surveillance or copycat activity, but so far officials have not identified the drones’ origin or tied them to a specific adversary.