Air Defense Failure and "Bureaucratic Hell": How Ukraine's "Cobweb" Operation Made the US Worry About Its F-35s
Kyiv • UNN
A Pentagon report revealed that US military bases are defenseless against drones due to legislative confusion. This creates legal paradoxes and makes timely response to threats impossible.
The successful Ukrainian operation "Cobweb," which destroyed a number of Russian strategic bombers, has forced the Pentagon to reconsider the defense of its own facilities. A report by the Inspector General of the US Department of Defense revealed that key military bases and factories remain vulnerable to small UAVs not due to a lack of weapons, but due to confusion in legislation and regulations. This is reported by UNN.
Details
According to the document "Management Advisory: Immediate Attention Required to Protect DoD Covered Assets," the current US Code does not include training bases in the list of facilities subject to mandatory anti-drone protection. This creates a legal paradox: at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona, where fifth-generation F-35 fighter pilots are trained, personnel may not have the legal authority to shoot down drones, even if they appear directly over the aircraft.
An even more complex situation has arisen with Plant No. 42 in Palmdale, where secret aviation components are manufactured. Despite repeated appearances of unknown UAVs over the facility during 2024-2025, disputes arose within the US Air Force and the Pentagon as to whether this plant was included in the list of protected areas. Bureaucratic uncertainty effectively paralyzes the ability to respond in a timely manner to potential threats.
The 67-second formula: lack of time for coordination
Military exercises have shown that in modern conditions, security structures have only 67 seconds to identify a target and coordinate actions between local authorities, states, and federal services. Any delay in this chain makes even the most modern air defense systems powerless against a swarm of cheap commercial drones capable of disabling expensive equipment in open parking lots.
Currently, the Pentagon is urgently trying to synchronize the actions of more than 500 military bases across the United States. The main challenge remains the creation of a unified structure that will allow commanders on the ground to make decisions about destroying intruders without the risk of criminal prosecution due to conflicting civilian laws.