Mystery Drones Hovered Over Navy Destroyers Off California, Report Says

The drones were many miles from the mainland and were able to stay aloft more than 90 minutes, longer than commercially available drones, the report says

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Mass Communication Specialist Seaman Apprentice Carla Ocampo/U.S. Navy via AP (File) FILE – This May 18, 2011 photo made available by the U.S. Navy shows the guided-missile destroyer USS Kidd in the Pacific Ocean.

Several drones repeatedly swarmed Navy destroyers off the California coast in July 2019, and it remains unclear who was behind the brazen nighttime flights, according to a report on the website The Drive, quoting ship logs.

As many as six drones flew around the warships at a time in often low-visibility conditions near Southern California's Channel Islands over a number of days, with the drones flashing lights and prompting security precautions onboard, according to the report.

The report was based mainly on Navy ship logs The Drive obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request, as well as publicly available ship tracking data. A documentary filmmaker, Dave Beaty, first uncovered some details about drone flights around the USS Kidd, a Navy destroyer, the report said.

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The Navy did not respond to a request for comment.

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