Mystery Drones Take 'Evasive Action' Over Major Louisiana Air Force Base

Lawmakers in Louisiana are set to receive classified briefings on "multiple waves" of unauthorized drones buzzing above a critical Air Force base.

Republican Senator Bill Cassidy expects to be debriefed Friday on the recent incursions at Barksdale Air Force Base, where multiple drones stormed above during the week of March 9, ABC News reported last week.

"I’m told—but it’s not confirmed—that the drones [took] evasive action," Cassidy told KTBS on Wednesday. "It's not just somebody out there with a drone and he happens to go over a fence. Rather, it’s people who don’t want to be recognized."

The recent unauthorized drone activity is "concerning," Cassidy said.

"We're going to create some tools to address that," he told the station.

Kennedy said he's still awaiting more details and didn't have any additional information than the public, adding that he hadn't seen the drones as he's been in Washington.

Cassidy's office confirmed the lawmaker had requested a classified briefing on the sightings, but did not provide additional details early Friday. Kennedy's office did not return a message seeking .

A Barksdale Air Force Base spokesperson told Newsweek in a statement on Friday: “Barksdale Air Force Base detected multiple unauthorized drones operating in our airspace during the week of March 9th. Flying a drone over a military installation is not only a safety issue, it is a criminal offense under federal law. We are working closely with federal and local law enforcement agencies to investigate these incursions. The security of our installation and the safety of our people are top priorities, and we will continue to vigilantly monitor our airspace.”

A confidential internal briefing document obtained by ABC News revealed that what had been believed to be a single unauthorized drone above Barksdale Air Force Base was actually multiple incursions.

Base officials issued a shelter-in-place order on March 9 following a report of an "unmanned aerial system operating over the installation," ABC News reported on March 20.

The sighting sparked immediate concerns because the base houses long-range B-52 bombers and plays a critical role in the Air Force's nuclear defense capabilities. The order was lifted later that day, but the unauthorized drone flights continued for nearly a week, Air Force officials confirmed to ABC News.

"Barksdale Air Force Base detected multiple unauthorized drones operating in our airspace during the week of March 9th," Captain Hunter Rininger of the 2nd Bomb Wing told the outlet in a statement.

The unauthorized drones buzzed above the base in waves and seemingly tried to "avoid the operator(s) being located" and lights on the devices indicated users "may be testing security responses" at the base, according to the March 15 confidential briefing document.

"Between March 9-15, 2026, BAFB Security Forces observed multiple waves of 12-15 drones operating over sensitive areas of the installation, including the flight line, with aircraft displaying non-commercial signal characteristics, long-range control links and resistance to jamming," the document reads. "After reaching multiple points across the installation, the drones dispersed across sensitive locations on the base."

No drone activity was detected on March 13 and 14, and it's unclear if the flights, which lasted multiple hours, have occurred since earlier this month, according to confidential briefing document.

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