Police in a neighboring country have arrested three people on suspicion of planning an attack on a military air base used by several allied air forces, including transport aircraft from our own country.
Armed officers were posted along the base’s perimeter fence on Tuesday morning as investigators searched two rented properties about 30 kilometers away. According to the neighboring country’s interior ministry, officers found several commercial drones, spare batteries, printed maps of the base and handwritten notes on the timing of patrols.
The suspects, two men and a woman aged between 24 and 39, were detained overnight in a coordinated operation. Officials have not disclosed a possible motive and said there was no sign that an attack was imminent at the time of the arrests.
Our crews are safe
The defense ministry in Riverton confirmed that two of the country’s transport planes and around 40 crew and support staff are stationed at the base as part of a joint logistics mission. All personnel are accounted for, and flights have continued on a reduced schedule.
We are in close contact with our partners and have full confidence in their investigation. There is no risk to our personnel at this time.
Lieutenant Colonel Erik Navarro, defense ministry spokesperson
The ministry added that it had ordered a review of security at the country’s own air bases as a precaution, with particular attention to the threat from small drones.
A growing concern
Security experts say the case fits a wider pattern. Small, cheap drones have become one of the main worries for those guarding airfields, power plants and ports, because they are easy to buy and hard to detect at low altitude.
A fence and a guard post are no longer enough. Any site that matters now has to think about what can come over the fence, not just through it.
Dr. Mirela Haas, security analyst at Elmbridge University
Residents living near the base described a heavy police presence through the night, with roadblocks on both main access roads and a helicopter circling overhead until dawn.
What happens next
The three suspects are expected to appear before an investigating judge later this week, who will decide whether they remain in custody. Prosecutors have 48 hours to bring formal charges under the neighboring country’s law.
The National Assembly’s defense committee has asked the defense minister to brief members behind closed doors next week. The opposition Progress Party said it wanted to know whether any warning about the plot had been shared with Riverton before the arrests.
Comments 2
Good that it was stopped in time. The point about drones is worrying, though.
I hope at least part of the review of our own bases is made public.