US Navy still hasn't explained this drone mystery

THIS DIDNT MAKE IT IN THE TIMES: Five US destroyers were pursued and spied on by a swarm of unidentified drones over several days off the coast of California in July, 2019, according to ship logs now revealed under freedom of information releases. Up to six drones targeted the warships and performed “brazen manoeuvres” in low-visibility conditions near a sensitive military training range about 100 miles off Los Angeles, The Drive news outlet revealed. The released logs of USS Kidd, USS Rafael Peralta, USS Russell, USS John Finn and USS Paul Hamilton, all Arleigh Burke-class guided-missile destroyers, gave no indication from where the drones had originated and whether they were friendly or hostile. However, it was judged unlikely they could have been operated from land because of the distance involved. One possibility considered was that they came from a foreign submarine sufficiently advanced in technology to be capable of launching multiple drones when submerged. All five US destroyers which are fitted with the Aegis anti-ballistic missile weapon system, are regularly deployed to the Indo-Pacific as part of the Pentagon’s focus on China and North Korea in that region. The 2019 drone incidents led to an investigation by both the US Navy in San Diego and the Los Angeles office of the FBI. Admiral John Richardson, then US chief of naval operations, was kept informed of the investigation, as was the commander of US Pacific Command. The first drone sighting was made on board USS Kidd around 10pm on July 14, 2019, according to the log published by The Drive. The destroyer immediately reduced the ship’s electronic emissions profile “to enhance operational security and survivability”. The other warships in the same area were warned, and photographic intelligence units on board known as Snoopie teams, were alerted. The log on USS Rafael Peralta noted at 2207: “USS Kidd reported UAV [unmanned aerial vehicle] overhead warned.” At 2210, the same ship’s log said: “USS John Finn reports two drones overhead.” At 2323, the USS Rafael Peralta log reported: “White light identified hovering over ship’s flight deck [helicopter landing pad].” The destroyer was moving at 16 knots (18.4mph) at the time, and the drone or drones kept pace with the ship for at least 90 minutes which is beyond what a commercial drone could sustain when operating 100 miles from land. Similar drone incidents occurred the following night. The USS Kidd log recorded at 2120: “Multiple UAVs around ship.” USS Russell also reported “multiple drones spotted” . The drones were moving forward and backward, left and right. A passing cruise ship, the Carnival Imagination, radioed to say five or six drones had been seen. “The drones did not originate from their ship,” USS Rafael Peralta recorded. One ship that did have drones on board, an oceanographic research vessel, ORV Alguita, said their UAVs could only fly up to 10ft from the vessel and were not operating efficiently. At no time were there any attempts to shoot down the drones. There were more drone sightings on July 25 and 30. Naval investigators struggled to pinpoint who sent them. The US Navy in San Diego said it only operated drones in limited areas and provided operational details that appeared to rule out any official drone exercise.