Over several days in March, swarms of drones influenced takeoffs by US bombers from a key base in Louisiana. The extent of the disruption is significantly greater than was initially known.
The US Air Force Base Barksdale in the state of Louisiana is one of the largest and most important military bases for the American armed forces in their own country. B-52 long-range bombers in particular are stationed there. In mid-March, the base was completely paralyzed several times.
The reason: Swarms of drones kept buzzing over the weapons range and prevented launches from taking place as planned. Among other things, B-52 bombers that were supposed to fly missions in Iran were also affected, as the specialist magazine The War Zone reported.
According to a confidential internal document obtained by ABC News, the drone flights were far more extensive than was initially publicly portrayed. The document states, among other things, that in the week from March 9th to 15th, “several waves of 12 to 15 drones each flew over sensitive areas of the base, including the runway.” Each of the waves forced the U.S. Air Force to suspend operations and send base operations personnel to shelters.