After Ukraine’s surprise drone assault on Russia, new attention drawn to sensitive sites stateside

After Ukraine launched a abrupt drone battle connected Russian installations, it brought caller attraction to the U.S.’ ain vulnerabilities, careless of which broadside the U.S. stood connected Kyiv’s attack.

In caller years, Chinese Communist Party-linked entities person commercially targeted onshore astir the U.S., including successful the vicinity of delicate installations similar the Grand Forks Air Force Base successful North Dakota.

The Fufeng Group’s 300-acre farmland acquisition successful 2021 archetypal raised the corporate antennae of Congress to specified under-the-radar transactions – and adjacent Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis swiftly banned them successful his authorities arsenic a result, among different efforts astir the country.

On Tuesday, North Dakota’s senators agreed that the U.S. indispensable stay vigilant for immoderate malign activity, whether it beryllium from comparatively caller drone assaults to imaginable espionage done existent property transactions.

UKRAINE’S SURPRISE ATTACK SHOWS IT MAY TAKE A ‘MAJOR DRONE STRIKE’ TO CHANGE US DEFENSE POLICY, EXPERTS SAY

An detonation of a drone is seen successful the entity implicit the metropolis during a Russian drone strike, amid Russia's onslaught connected Ukraine, successful Kyiv, Ukraine, connected April 24, 2025. (REUTERS/Gleb Garanich)

"When adversaries tin bargain our land, be our universities, photograph silos successful our prairies, execute aerial surveillance, parkland their ships adjacent our subject bases, oregon adjacent conscionable articulation our PTAs, they person much opportunities to beryllium nefarious," Republican Sen. Kevin Cramer told Fox News Digital.

"Our posture indispensable ever beryllium vigilant, ne'er assuming overseas actors are benign oregon person the champion intentions," helium said. "Whether it’s straight spying, indirectly influencing, oregon sending drones to stroke up aircraft, the quality of the force increases erstwhile we let them casual entree adjacent our nationalist interests." 

Cramer’s Flickertail State counterpart, Sen. John Hoeven, joined an effort to forestall specified land-buys and has worked with national partners to update the process successful which overseas concern is analyzed for support and decided upon.

"We request to stay vigilant against China and different adversaries," said Hoeven, who is co-sponsoring South Dakota Sen. Mike Rounds’ measure banning individuals and entities controlled by China, Russia, Iran and North Korea from purchasing farmland oregon commercialized onshore adjacent delicate national sites.

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"At the aforesaid time, we’re moving to update the CFIUS process [which governs national support of overseas investments] to guarantee due reviews are taking spot arsenic well," Hoeven said.

"We besides are moving to make the exertion we request to support our home subject bases from potential drone threats."

Rounds’ measure besides has bipartisan support, including from Sen. Catherine Cortez-Masto, D-Nev., whose authorities besides hosts delicate authorities sites similar Nellis Air Force Base and Area 51.

"It is communal consciousness that we should not let our overseas adversaries to buy cultivation land adjacent to these locations," Masto said successful a statement.

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Rounds added in a statement that America’s "near-peer adversaries… are looking for immoderate imaginable accidental to surveil our nation’s capabilities and resources."

Even private-sector entities person expressed concern, including the South Dakota Soybean Association, which said farmland indispensable beryllium protected from overseas acquisition for some cultivation and nationalist information purposes.