Terrifying moment air traffic control warns pilots about 'heavy drone activity' as USAF base is targeted in the Midwest
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A key US Air Force Base has been forced to close after drones were spotted circling above, marking the latest sinister development in the mystery aircraft saga. Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio shut down for around four hours late on Friday night into Saturday morning, according to CNN affiliate WHIO.
![[The closure of Wright-Patterson - the first base to publicly announce a shutdown - makes way for more sinister ideas that the drones could be the work of a foreign power. (Pictured: Russian President Vladimir Putin with North Korea's leader Kim Jong Un in June 2024)]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/16/14/93194231-14197629-image-a-18_1734360298983.jpg)
The location is the latest military base targeted by the ominous flying objects. They have also been seen whirring over Picatinny Arsenal, home of the US Army's CCDC Armaments Center, and Naval Weapons Station Earle, both in New Jersey. The Biden administration's dismissal of the drones as nothing to worry about - despite failing to provide any explanation about what's behind the flurry of activity - prompted speculation that the aircraft are being operated by the US military.
![[Pictured: what appears to be drones flying over Lebanon Township, New Jersey, December 5]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/16/15/93196357-14197629-Pictured_what_appears_to_be_drones_flying_over_Lebanon_Township_-a-15_1734361975904.jpg)
But this comparatively reassuring theory is somewhat undermined by the closure of Wright-Patterson - the first base to publicly announce a shutdown - potentially compromising US military readiness in the event of an enemy attack. Bob Purtiman, chief of public affairs for the 88th Air Base Wing at Wright-Patterson, said the 'small unmanned aerial systems' were monitored by officials during the shutdown on Friday night.
![[Wright-Patterson is located around five miles outside the city of Dayton in west Ohio. It's home to critical US AIr Force commands, including the Air Force Research Lab]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/16/15/93196365-14197629-Wright_Patterson_is_located_around_five_miles_outside_the_city_o-a-16_1734361975905.jpg)
'To date, installation leadership has determined none of the incursions impacted base residents, facilities or assets,' Purtiman told WHIO. In a recording of the air traffic control tower at the base posted on YouTube by The War Zone, a controller tells pilots to 'use extreme caution' due to 'heavy UAS activity' above. UAS stands for 'unmanned aircraft system'.
![[Pictured: Picatinny Arsenal's Commanding Major General John Reim welcomes Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy before a tour of the Scranton Army Ammunition Plant on Sept 2024. Picatinny's role supplying ammo to Ukraine may explain the mystery drones over NJ]](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2024/12/16/14/93061309-14197629-Pictured_Picatinny_Arsenal_s_Commanding_Major_General_John_Reim_-a-22_1734360750575.jpg)
