Iran’s growing drone capabilities may pose an immediate and significant threat to the United States, with California emerging as a potential target for a large-scale aerial attack, according to a leading U.S. military intelligence expert, the New York Post reports. The United States, he cautions, remains inadequately prepared to counter such a sophisticated assault.
Brett Velicovich, a former U.S. Army intelligence and special operations officer who spent years directing drone missions against ISIS and other terrorist networks, warned that Tehran possesses both the motive and the means to launch a long-range strike against American territory. “We’re extremely vulnerable to drone attacks,” he said. “We’re not prepared for this.”
Velicovich explained that Iran’s arsenal includes thousands of one-way, long-range attack drones that can fly hundreds of miles and strike targets with precision using satellite guidance. These drones, he said, can be launched in swarms, overwhelming defensive systems and destroying critical infrastructure.
The FBI recently issued warnings to law enforcement agencies across California, underscoring the seriousness of the situation. Velicovich interprets these alerts as evidence that U.S. intelligence agencies regard the threat as credible. He noted that Iranian forces could deploy drones from vessels positioned in the Pacific, including unmanned ships operated remotely via satellite networks. “You don’t even need a human anywhere near this,” he said. “You can launch these things over Starlink from a boat 1,000 miles away.”
He also pointed to Iran’s established ties in Mexico and several South American nations, suggesting that these relationships could facilitate attacks launched from the southern border. Such actions, Velicovich argued, would be intended to instill widespread fear and disrupt critical sectors of the American economy, emphasizing that Iran’s strategy “is to sow fear” with drone attacks.
As the founder of the defense technology company Powerus, Velicovich proposed that the United States adopt a multi-layered system of protection to combat drone threats. Effective measures, he said, include electronic jamming technology, surface-to-air interceptors, and directed-energy weapons designed to disable aircraft through high-intensity laser strikes. “There’s no one single solution” against drone attacks, he noted. “You have, like, literally, guys with machine guns trying to shoot them down.”
Velicovich stressed that the federal government’s responsibility extends to timely public communication. “Somebody credible intelligence that this is a real threat,” Velicovich said. “So they have a duty to warn the American people, and they have a duty to warn local law enforcement to be on the lookout.”
The Los Angeles Police Department confirmed that it is coordinating closely with federal and state agencies in response to the warnings. In a public statement, the department assured residents that it continues to “coordinate with all of our Federal, State, and local partners for intelligence and information sharing during the ongoing Middle East conflict.”
“We share this information in real time, assess every credible lead, and adjust our posture as needed to ensure the safety of our City,” the department said, noting, “at this time, there are no known or specific threats to Los Angeles.”