The Atlas Obscura Podcast The Mysterious Drones at Langley Air Force Base
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Jun 17, 2025 
Gordon Lubold, a foreign policy and national security reporter at the Wall Street Journal, dives deep into the mysterious drone sightings at Langley Air Force Base. He discusses the evolution of drones from toys to serious security concerns, particularly a baffling 17-day incident that left military officials on edge. The conversation touches on potential foreign surveillance threats, including those from China and Russia, and highlights the complexities of military responses to these modern aerial challenges.
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Seventeen Nights of Mystery Drones
- For 17 nights, mysterious drones appeared above Langley Air Force Base, some the size of cars.
- Military personnel scrambled with binoculars but could not identify the drones before they suddenly disappeared.
Langley Incident More Concerning Than Hysteria
- The New Jersey drone panic was largely hysteria without clear threat, unlike Langley's legitimate and unresolved drone mystery.
- Langley's incident posed real concern due to the inability to identify or stop the drones.
High-Value Jets Moved for Safety
- The drones circled Langley AFB for 17 days, baffling personnel in a base housing expensive F-22 Raptor fighters.
- The fighters were flown off the base to protect them due to uncertainty about the drones' intentions.