A single device can be hard enough to stop when it appears over a crowded event.
Now the agency protecting America’s leaders says the threat becomes far more difficult when several arrive together.
Secret Service Deputy Director Matthew Quinn says drone swarms remain a major security problem his agency has not solved.
“Swarms are a huge problem and a big threat,” Quinn told 60 Minutes in an interview broadcast Sunday.
“I’d love to tell you the swarm problem is solved,” he added, before stating plainly that it is not.
The admission comes as the Secret Service builds new defenses against drones capable of threatening presidents, lawmakers, and crowds.
Quinn is overseeing a multimillion-dollar program to develop both offensive and defensive drone capabilities.
One tool described by CBS uses radar and artificial intelligence to guide a drone hunter toward another aircraft.
The interceptor can disable the target and capture it in a net.
That technology addresses part of the danger, but Quinn’s warning makes clear that swarms present a harder challenge.
At a campaign rally or sporting event, defenders must protect people on the ground while identifying threats overhead.
A small drone carrying explosives could cause serious harm at a crowded venue, according to the report.
The concern extends beyond President Donald Trump’s personal security to the safety of everyone attending protected events.
Secret Service Director Sean Curran said the agency must prepare for that possibility before an attack occurs.
The agency is studying lessons from Ukraine, where drones have become a prominent part of modern warfare.
Quinn said officials expect those technologies eventually to reach the American homeland. His warning describes a potential threat, not a claim that a drone swarm has attacked a presidential event.
The Secret Service has already confronted unauthorized drone activity near a high-profile gathering.
CBS reported that agents used electronic jamming to bring down a drone at December’s Army-Navy game.
Trump and members of Congress attended that game, increasing the security stakes surrounding the aircraft.
The report did not say that the intercepted drone carried a weapon or belonged to a coordinated swarm.
Still, the incident shows why aerial threats are now part of planning for major public appearances.
The agency faces this technological challenge while handling a rising number of threats against its protectees.
Curran said it has recorded 10,000 threats against protected people so far this year.
Cases involving full-time protectees have risen 40 percent from the comparable period last year, he said.
Those figures describe the agency’s broader workload; they do not mean 10,000 drone threats have been identified.
Officials must investigate credible warnings without treating every online threat as an imminent attack. Curran pointed to the internet’s role in making public figures and information about them more accessible.
The pressure comes two years after the assassination attempt against Trump at a campaign rally in Butler, Pennsylvania. A Homeland Security inspector general’s report found that the Secret Service missed multiple chances to disrupt that attack.
That finding makes the agency’s response to emerging drone threats an urgent question of accountability. Officials must show they can turn warnings into effective protection before another failure tests their preparations.
Curran said the agency has expanded training as Trump resumes campaign travel ahead of the midterm elections. Quinn said 942 people are currently in Secret Service training, compared with roughly 200 last year.
Staffing is only one part of the problem when a new threat demands equipment, coordination, and rapid decisions. The Secret Service also faces foreign threats, including warnings from Iran against Trump.
Those concerns raise the national security stakes, although officials have not tied Iran to a drone swarm targeting him. Quinn said the White House remains exceptionally secure despite the unresolved swarm problem, The New York Post reported.
That assurance does not erase the challenge of protecting a president at changing locations open to large crowds.
This article may contain commentary which reflects the author's opinion.
