Escalating threats to President Trump’s life and a thwarted alleged plot to drone attack a White House event this summer have put a sharp focus on the ability of U.S. air defense systems to protect the president and the nation’s capital. And former Defense and FBI officials warn that existing defense infrastructure faces major vulnerabilities.
Though Iranian threats to the president’s life have existed since 2020, security has visibly increased during Trump’s second term. It wasn’t until after the start of the Iran war that anti-drone systems known as Avengers were deployed to Trump’s Bedminster club and his Mar-a-Lago estate, two government officials with knowledge of the movement of the air defense systems told MS NOW.
The Pentagon first established its air defense systems around Washington, D.C., following the 2001 terrorist attacks, but the former officials who spoke with MS NOW are ringing alarm bells about the slow pace of modernization that has yet to effectively keep up with advanced drone threats and other unmanned aerial systems.
“The threat is real,” said retired Gen. Glen VanHerck, who oversaw the aerial defense infrastructure as commander of U.S. Northern Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command from 2020 to 2024. “We need more of a sense of urgency to move faster to defend our critical infrastructure.”
In June, the Department of Justice indicted eight men on murder and terrorism conspiracy charges for an alleged drone attack plot targeting the UFC fight on the White House South Lawn, which Trump and many members of his administration attended. The DOJ said one of the defendants “discussed loading explosives on the drones and how to configure and fly them for maximum destructive impact.”
The FAA also reported seizing over 700 unauthorized drones, this summer, flying in restricted airspace near FIFA World Cup sites.
Gen. VanHerck pointed to one example in particular that the nation’s capital is not equipped to handle. “What Ukraine did to Russia with Operation Spiderweb striking their strategic bombers, that could happen right here, and we need to make sure it doesn’t happen right here.”
In 2025, Ukrainian forces executed a covert operation by sneaking 117 drones with explosive payloads attached into Russia and carried out a mass attack on Russian airfields that damaged nearly a third of its strategic bomber fleet.
When asked if the U.S. is currently equipped to stop that kind of drone attack on the American homeland, VanHerck responded: “We’re not ready to stop that type of attack.”
The unmanned aircrafts repeatedly appearing over Langley Air Force Base in Virginia in 2023, as well as the flurry of drone sightings over New Jersey in 2024 were two catalysts for a swifter federal government response to potential domestic drone threats.
Another former Defense official told MS NOW that the type of threats that smaller unmanned aircraft systems pose to the D.C. area is a challenge for the missile defense infrastructure first built around D.C. nearly 25 years ago. Those counter-measures were designed before the outgrowth of modernized drone and short-range missile warfare.
“There are absolutely capabilities in the region, but there’s no doubt that countering unmanned systems is a huge challenge that we are behind and under invested in,” the former official said about the National Capital Region Integrated Air Defense System [NCR-IADS].
“Our ability to defend against drones, it’s pretty grim,” said former FBI agent Christopher O’Leary, who worked in counterterrorism. “D.C. has got some capability, but it’s not pervasive, and drone technology continues to expand and metastasize.”
The White House has more capabilities than the larger D.C. area, said O’Leary, an MS NOW national security contributor. But “you’re limited by your imagination,” he said. “Secret Service does a great job. They’re the best in the world at it. But there’s a limit to what protective security can do. It’s reactionary.”
Trump, who frequently talks about the risk of drone attacks, argues his massive ballroom project at the White House complex is a matter of national security because it will be both “drone-proof” and feature a “drone port” on the building’s roof.
In early August, a top White House aide posted a video of an Army Avenger, a short-range air defense weapon, at his Bedminster Golf Course earlier this month.
“I’m not worried about missiles or drones,” said Trump as he shook the hands of soldiers in front of the Avenger.
One of the soldiers, pointing to the weapon, responded, “We’ve got it covered right there.”
The nation’s capital has greater technology to counter a drone attack but drone technology and the ability for anyone to easily download an A.I. program to help equip a drone with an explosive is easier now than ever before, said Niccola Milnes, a security and counterterrorism adviser who has worked in Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, and South Asia.
“The fear is: just overwhelming the system, or by sheer creativity coming up with drones that are able to evade it,” said Milnes. “It’s going to happen. It’s just a matter of time.”
Milnes thinks a state-sponsored drone attack is more likely to target an airport, a parade, or a rally than a direct attack on the White House or U.S. Capitol. She pointed to a recent incident at Germany’s Leipzig airport where a drone loaded with explosives bypassed the airport’s jamming and scanning counter systems, making it to a runway before being discovered and diffused.
“With the exception of 9/11, the United States always had this monopoly of the sky over the United States. We controlled the air,” said Milnes. “Drones have changed that entirely.”
An Army publication in 2025 wrote that Washington’s air defense system “is not adequately modernized to keep pace with the emerging threat picture.”
The publication said “upgrades have been limited, and the systems generally remain the same as when they were put in place, some 20 years ago,” noting that the range of weapons in Washington’s air defense systems need “sufficient magazine depth, or missile reload capabilities, to meet the threats and sustain the fight.”
The threats to Trump have gripped public attention, but officials warn of a “volume challenge” when addressing the sheer number of major cities and other critical infrastructure sites that need updated protections from aerial threats.
“There is the cost issue – the quantity and priority,” the former official who requested to remain anonymous, noting there is a concerted push within the Pentagon to develop new, non-ballistic equipment to take down unmanned aircraft.
The Defense Department has sought technologies that allow for the radio frequency takeover of drones to jam and even control the aircraft, as well as laser and non-kinetic defense weaponry, like net launchers.
Lt. Col. Andrew Scott, a spokesperson for the U.S. Air Force, told MS NOW that the North American Aerospace Defense Command “employs a layered defense network of radars, satellites, ground-based air defense systems, fighter jets and helicopters to secure the [National Capital Region] airspace.”
“NORAD utilizes a comprehensive, layered air defense network in the [National Capital Region],” Scott said. “This integrated system includes advanced radar systems, ground-based air defense systems, as well as fighter aircraft and helicopters operating on strict alert status. Together, these assets continuously enforce the Special Flight Rules Area over the national capital.”
The Pentagon formed in September 2025 the Joint Interagency Task Force 401 [JIATF-401], an extension of the Biden Administration’s “Replicator 2” initiative that focused on defense weapon procurement to thwart threats “posed by small uncrewed aerial systems.”
The Pentagon announced earlier this year that “Replicator 2,” now called “Domestic Shield,” moved forward with its first acquisition of two advanced DroneHunter F700 systems as part of the joint task force, but it is not clear if the systems are deployed and if they are in use in D.C. or positioned near other critical infrastructure sites.
“JIATF-401 continues to acquire a variety of counter-UAS systems as part of a layered defense against drone threats,” said Lt. Col. Adam Scher, a spokesperson for JIATF-401. He added: “Due to operational security concerns, I will not discuss the deployment locations of specific systems.”
The JIATF-401 also awarded a $20 billion contract this spring to the firm Anduril to build out a single, information-sharing system to counter-unmanned aircraft.
VanHerck, the retired general who oversaw the military’s aerial defense system under the Biden Administration, directly praised the recent work of the 401 task force and its director, Brig. Gen. Matthew Ross.
“They’re bringing together capabilities to provide solutions, so I think they’re moving the ball down the field in the right direction,” VanHerck said. “I wish we’d move faster with a sense of urgency across the whole interagency, but I’m really happy that we’re going at least in the right direction.”
“Golden Dome,” a planned massive missile defense project, also received $25 billion in funding from a reconciliation package passed by Congress in 2025. But the Space Force general directing the Golden Dome construction warned this week that the project will not exist if Congress does not appropriate additional annual funding, according to a new report from Defense One.
In addition to the precautionary movement of the Avenger alongside Trump at his New Jersey golf club, F-16 jets from NORAD intercepted and escorted away two general aviation aircraft that violated the temporary flight restrictions over the golf course while the president was in Bedminster. Last week, a separate NORAD F-16 used flares to intercept a general aviation aircraft as the President attended a youth sports competition in Geneva, Ohio.
VanHerck said multiple commanders and leaders across several administrations highlighted the threat and expressed concern to Pentagon leadership about not having the necessary capabilities and resources. The Pentagon, however, while attempting to address other issues, elected to prioritize funding elsewhere, VanHerck said.
“It was articulated six years ago by me and my predecessors before that,” he added. “So my assessment: We elected to accept the risk, and now we’ve been exposed. So we’re now trying to address that in a more rapid manner. But this is not a surprise.”
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