In a troubling development that raises national security concerns, at least 17 U.S. military bases have reported a surge in mysterious drone sightings in recent weeks, many of which are alarmingly close to land owned by Chinese companies. The drone activity, which has been reported near military installations across the country — from Hawaii and California to Florida and Maine — is sparking fears that China could be using the land to spy on U.S. military operations.
A recent investigation by *The Post* revealed that 19 military bases are located near Chinese-owned farmland, a scenario that has raised red flags among experts concerned about potential espionage. While the exact origins of the drones remain unidentified, many analysts suspect that they could be linked to China, given the proximity to farmland purchased by companies with ties to the Chinese Communist Party.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) expressed grave concern over the sightings. “We need to identify who is behind these drones,” McCaul said. “My judgment, based on my experience, is that those drones over our military sites are adversarial, and most likely coming from the People’s Republic of China.” His comments reflect a growing unease about the role of Chinese interests in the U.S. agricultural sector and their potential use for intelligence-gathering purposes.
The reported drone incidents span across various states, with multiple military bases in the crosshairs. In Southern California, drones were spotted over Marine Corps Base Camp Pendleton between December 9 and 15, with six separate instances of unmanned aerial systems entering the base’s airspace. Officials at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio were forced to close the airspace for four hours due to concerns about drone activity, while Virginia Beach and Washington state have also seen drone sightings near military facilities.
These incidents are not isolated. In fact, multiple military bases — including Virginia’s Norfolk Naval Station and Washington’s Fort Lewis Army Base — have experienced similar close encounters with unidentified drones. Just this month, drone sightings have even led to temporary disruptions at civilian airports like Stewart International in New York, underscoring the growing threat posed by these mysterious aircraft.
The growing number of incidents has many questioning the motives behind the drone activity, particularly when considering the Chinese ownership of nearby farmland. Analysts like Morgan Lerette, a former contractor with the private military contractor Blackwater, suggest that Chinese-backed land purchases could be part of a larger strategy to monitor U.S. military movements and technological advancements. “The Chinese are, or will, use this farmland to learn more about U.S. military capabilities,” Lerette warned. “This will allow them to better understand how to transition their military from a defensive strategy to an expeditionary one.”
Chinese investors have been quietly acquiring land in the U.S. for years. As of December 2022, Chinese entities owned over 349,000 acres of U.S. farmland, according to the USDA’s Farm Service Agency. One of the most significant players in this space is billionaire Chen Tianqiao, a member of the Chinese Communist Party, who bought nearly 200,000 acres of Oregon farmland in 2015. While these holdings make up less than 1% of foreign-owned agricultural land in the U.S., their strategic location near military bases has sparked significant alarm.
Despite the mounting concerns, federal agencies such as the FBI, FAA, and the Pentagon have downplayed the situation, asserting that most of the reported drone sightings involve harmless commercial drones, hobbyist devices, or even misidentified stars. However, these reassurances are unlikely to quell growing fears that China could be using its U.S. land holdings as a cover for more nefarious activities, including surveillance of key military infrastructure.
As drone sightings continue to increase and Chinese interests deepen their foothold in U.S. agriculture, questions surrounding national security and foreign influence grow more pressing. While federal agencies continue to downplay the significance of these incidents, Americans are right to be concerned about the potential risks posed by adversarial foreign powers operating on U.S. soil.
