Here’s what we know: drones—large ones, silent ones, strange ones—have been spotted over Richmond, Hampton, and beyond. They hover where they shouldn’t. They float like ghosts over military bases and neighborhood rooftops, blinking their mechanical lights with a confidence that borders on arrogance. And nobody—nobody—knows who’s behind them.
If this doesn’t unsettle you, then congratulations. You’ve officially adjusted to the bizarre, disjointed rhythm of the modern world. A world where mystery doesn’t inspire panic anymore. It inspires shrugs. “Probably nothing,” people say. “Someone else’s problem.” We’ve seen enough strange things—enough chaos, enough digital noise—that a squadron of unmanned machines appearing out of nowhere barely registers on the anxiety scale.
But let’s sit with this for a minute. Drones over Langley Air Force Base? Over critical infrastructure? In the capital city of Virginia? These are not coincidences. Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin has made a good show of stomping his foot, demanding answers from federal agencies that seem just as baffled as the rest of us. He called the response “insufficient,” and honestly, he’s right. It’s a little troubling when the people who should have answers look up at the sky and shrug along with the rest of us.
So what’s going on here? Theories abound, and none of them are particularly comforting. Maybe it’s private industry—tech companies testing delivery systems or some new piece of innovation nobody’s asked for yet. Maybe it’s military training—a classified exercise, unacknowledged but perfectly legal. Maybe it’s something more sinister: foreign surveillance probing American defenses while we’re too busy arguing on Facebook.
Or maybe—and this is the theory that keeps me up at night—maybe no one is truly in control. Maybe the drones are out there because they can be. Machines designed to observe, map, test, and record. Sent out by a hundred different hands, for a hundred different reasons, into the vast gray space of our laws and our lives.
This isn’t just Virginia’s problem. New Jersey has seen them. New York too. At airports, over neighborhoods, over government facilities. Senator Chuck Schumer is yelling for better drone detection systems, and I don’t blame him. A bigger net for invisible fish. It might work, but it probably won’t. Because the truth is, this isn’t just a “technology” issue. It’s a trust issue. Who owns the skies? Who’s watching us? And why can’t anyone give us an answer that feels remotely satisfying?
The really bizarre part is how quiet it all is. The drones themselves: silent as a whisper. The government: silent, too, because they don’t have much to say. And us—silent as well, because we’re tired. We’re used to being watched. We’ve traded privacy for convenience, freedom for security, and mystery for apathy. The drones aren’t surprising—they’re inevitable.
So what do we do? Well, we keep looking up. We report what we see. We ask questions and hope for answers, knowing full well they may never come. Maybe they’re nothing. Maybe they’re everything. But they’re here.
Note: Suspicious drone activity can be reported to the Virginia Fusion Center at VFC@vfc.vsp.virginia.gov or 877-4VA-TIPS.
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Press Release December 16th, 2024
Governor Glenn Youngkin Statement on Drone Sightings in Virginia, Coordination With Local and Federal Partners
RICHMOND, VA – Governor Glenn Youngkin issued the following update after multiple sightings of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, were reported in and around the Commonwealth:
“The Commonwealth of Virginia is home to a significant number of national security and critical infrastructure sites upon which our nation depends each and every day. I remain deeply concerned that Virginia has consistently sought information from federal partners, and to date, the information shared with the Commonwealth has been insufficient,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin. “The Virginia State Police Homeland Security Division and Virginia Department of Emergency Management continue to closely coordinate through our Fusion Center with the greater law enforcement and first responder community regarding drone activity in the Commonwealth. We will continue to engage with numerous federal partners and release further information as it becomes known and available.”
The public at-large can continue to assist the Commonwealth by reporting observations to the Virginia Fusion Center at VFC@vfc.vsp.virginia.gov or (877)4VA-TIPS. Please do not attempt to interfere with UAVs by utilizing personally owned drones or any other airborne craft or attempting to capture the suspected drone/aircraft individually.
