The U.S. Northern Command’s top general on Thursday told lawmakers that incursions by unmanned aircraft systems on the southern border likely exceed 1,000 per month, which presents a “growing” potential threat to national security.

Pentagon commander Air Force Gen. Gregory Guillot during a Senate Armed Services Committee hearing called the number of drone incursions “alarming.”

“The number of incursions was something that was alarming to me as I took command last month,” Guillot said in response to a question from Sen. Ted Budd, R-N.C. “I don’t know the actual number — I don’t think anybody does — but it’s in the thousands.”

Asked if the incursions present a defense threat to the U.S., Guillot said he hasn’t seen any of the incursions “manifest in a threat to the level of national defense,” but he said he does “see the potential only growing.”

Committee members asked Guillot if the Department of Defense has a system in place to deal with unmanned aircraft systems incursions over U.S. military installations. 

“The services do have authorities, but work remains to be done to ensure that … we have standardized operating procedures to address those threats,” he said.

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