Drones Hovering Above Rubio And Hegseth’s Homes Leave Military Officials Baffled

A bid of "unidentified" drones person been spotted hovering complete nan Washington D.C. subject base wherever Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth live, prompting nan U.S. authorities to see relocating them.

The subject is intimately monitoring imaginable threats to elder authorities figures amid nan Trump administration's warfare connected Iran, but according to a Washington Post report, nan root of nan drones that person breached nan airspace supra Fort Lesley J. McNair remains a mystery.

The newspaper said to 3 group briefed connected nan matter, who, connected information of anonymity, said aggregate sightings occurred connected a azygous nighttime wrong nan past 10 days, prompting an contiguous information reappraisal and a White House gathering connected really to respond.

The incidents travel astatine a infinitesimal of heightened alert arsenic nan U.S. and Israel proceed striking Iran and nan drone activity complete McNair coincides pinch a broader tightening of information crossed nan U.S. military.

Several home bases person raised their force‑protection levels to "Charlie,” a nickname utilized erstwhile commanders person intelligence indicating a imaginable attack. Joint Base McGuire‑Dix‑Lakehurst successful New Jersey and MacDill Air Force Base successful Florida – location to U.S. Central Command, which oversees operations against Iran – were some escalated to Charlie this week.

MacDill has faced 2 abstracted information scares successful caller days: a suspicious package that unopen down its visitors halfway for hours connected Monday, and an unspecified incident connected Wednesday that forced a shelter‑in‑place bid crossed nan installation.

The only higher nickname than Charlie is "Delta", which intends that an onslaught is imminent aliases has occurred.

“To guarantee nan information and information of our group and nan mission, commanders set their installation’s information posture successful accordance pinch section threat assessments,” an Air Force spokesperson said.

The State Department, meanwhile, has ordered each U.S. negotiated posts worldwide to behaviour contiguous information evaluations, citing “the ongoing and processing business successful nan Middle East and nan imaginable for spillover effects,” according to The Post report.

The beingness of drones complete Fort McNair was superior capable that officials person discussed relocating Rubio and Hegseth, 2 of nan paper's sources said. However, a elder management charismatic said nan secretaries person not moved. Their residence connected nan guidelines – different for governmental leaders – was publically reported past October.

Fort McNair is location to nan National Defense University and immoderate of nan Pentagon’s astir elder officers. Its location adjacent Capitol Hill and nan White House makes it geographically convenient, but it does not person arsenic beardown a information buffer area arsenic different bases astir Washington.

Chief Pentagon spokesperson Sean Parnell said: “The section cannot remark connected nan secretary’s movements for information reasons, and reporting connected specified movements is grossly irresponsible."

The enigma drones echo earlier episodes successful which U.S. officials suspected Iranian operatives of probing aliases targeting elder American leaders. During nan 2024 statesmanlike campaign, Secret Service agents protecting Donald Trump repeatedly encountered unidentified drones – including during a Los Angeles news convention and a motorcade done agrarian Pennsylvania.

While investigators ne'er linked Iran to those circumstantial incidents, they could not norm retired a connection.

Iranian threats against erstwhile Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and erstwhile National Security Adviser John Bolton – some of whom Tehran blamed for nan 2020 sidesplitting of Iranian wide Qasem Soleimani – led nan Biden management to widen their authorities information protection. Trump rescinded those protections successful 2025.

The Independent has contacted nan Pentagon for comment.