This is John Batchel, conversation with colleague Henry Sikolsky of the Non-Proliferation Policy Education Center about drones.

Various reports years old of drones appearing over critical military bases, naval dock sides.

The question is, what is to be done?

I learned from Henry that it is not straightforward in the United States.

This isn't a warfront.

This isn't shoot anything that moves.

This is drones in peacetime.

What do you do if you think you're being spied on?

Good question.

Here's Henry Sikolsky to explain the limitations of drone fighting.

More of this later this week.

I think the short answer is no.

There are various things you can do once you detect and know you want to bring a drone down

but that's a few steps down the road uh you have to detect it you have to know that you have to

know that you want to bring it down and you have to have you know the the whether it's a machine gun, a net, another drone that goes after the drone, all that is like step number three.

The earlier steps need to be in place, even if you have countermeasures technically,

and they are not that elegant or exquisite yet.

I mean, you know, we know that in Ukraine they're able to knock down drones

because they assume that any drone

coming at them is hostilely.

They don't have any legal barriers.

They know who's in charge to shoot.

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