Former officials warn U.S. 'not ready' to stop drone attack

Escalating threats to President Donald Trump's life and a thwarted alleged plot to use drones to attack a White House event this summer have put a sharp focus on the ability of U.S. air defense systems to protect the president and the nation's capital. And former defense and FBI officials warn that existing defense infrastructure faces major vulnerabilities.

Although Iranian threats to the president's life have existed since 2020, security has visibly increased during Trump's second term. It wasn't until after the Iran war had started that anti-drone systems known as Avengers were deployed to Trump's Bedminster club and his Mar-a-Lago estate, two government officials with knowledge of the movement of the air defense systems told MS NOW.

The Pentagon first established its air defense systems around Washington, D.C., after the 2001 terrorist attacks, but the former officials who spoke with MS NOW are ringing alarm bells about the slow pace of modernization that has yet to effectively keep up with advanced drone threats and other unmanned aerial systems.