Eli Crane Sends Warning On Drones: Americans Don't 'Have The Slightest Idea How Warfare Is Evolving'

During a House Homeland Security Committee hearing Tuesday, Rep. Eli Crane (R-AZ) spoke about drone warfare.

Transcript

00:00Thank you, the Ranking Member. I know I recognize the gentleman from Arizona, Mr. Crane.

00:06Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Thank you guys for showing up today. Obviously, this is a very

00:10serious topic. I don't think that most Americans have the slightest idea how warfare is evolving,

00:18especially over in the Middle East and Europe right now when it comes to drones.

00:23And that greatly concerns me as somebody who sits on the Homeland Security Committee.

00:28A couple weeks ago up here in D.C., we were down in the skiff getting a secret briefing from several

00:37of the agencies on our drone capabilities pertaining to many of these major events that are coming up

00:43in the U.S., like the World Cup, the Olympics, et cetera. One of the recommendations that I made

00:48was that we do everything in our power to make sure that these events take place in domes with roofs

00:56over the top for obvious reasons. I think that would cut down a lot and seriously mitigate

01:05attacks from drones and the effectiveness that they could have in either dropping chemicals,

01:11you know, dropping explosives, et cetera. One of the gentlemen in there said he would put that in

01:17his report, but he said he couldn't guarantee that it wouldn't be stripped out of the report.

01:22I did some research and there are 10 NFL stadiums within the U.S. that have domes.

01:29I'll read those for you now. We got the State Farm Stadium in Arizona, Mercedes-Benz Stadium in

01:37Atlanta, AT&T Stadium, Dallas Cowboys, Ford Field, Detroit Lions, NRG Stadium, Houston, Texas,

01:46Lucas Oil Stadium, Indianapolis Colts, Allegiant Stadium, Las Vegas Raiders, SoFi Stadium, Los Angeles,

01:55U.S. Bank Stadium, Minnesota, Vikings, Caesars Superdome, and New Orleans. Have any of you guys

02:03made any recommendations to the interagency or any of the other groups that are responsible for hosting

02:11these events about making sure that they do everything in their power to hold these events

02:16in domes? Go ahead, Mr. Hutton. Thank you, Congressman. Would be happy to follow up in a

02:26classified session to talk about some of the things that my company and others have done

02:33to support federal law enforcement agencies at high-profile events. We have not made that specific

02:39recommendation, though it makes a lot of sense. Why not? That's been outside of our remit.

02:47It makes a lot of sense, and it's entirely possible that at the action officer tactical level that that

02:54recommendation has been made. As a company, we have not come across our path. However...

02:59Thank you for that. Let me ask you a follow-up, Mr. Hutton. And I know you can't give me a specific

03:05here, but what percentage do you think that that would cut down the threat if we were to host the

03:10Olympics and these World Cup games in domes when it comes to drone warfare? I think that would take

03:18a significant risk off the table. Okay. Would you commit to pass that along and help me amplify that

03:26message to FIFA and everybody involved in Homeland Security and protecting Americans? Because I also

03:32looked up the average stadium size for the World Cup coming up, and it's between 64,000 to 105,000

03:41Americans. If we don't think for a second that terrorists and other state actors who would be

03:48willing to commit an attack on U.S. soil doesn't see that as a fat, juicy, vulnerable target, we're out of

03:56our minds. Would you commit to helping me amplify that, Mr. Hutton? I'd be happy to. What about the rest of

04:03you guys? Yes, sir. Yeah? Okay. Thank you. I yield back. Gentleman yields back. I now recognize the gentleman

04:16from New York, Mr. Kennedy.