U.S. authorities brought down suspicious drones that entered the airspace over the 2026 Masters Tournament and Formula 1’s Miami Grand Prix in April and May, respectively, according to Homeland Security Secretary Markwayne Mullin.Mullin, who testified on Wednesday in front of the House Homeland Security Committee, told lawmakers that there were a dozen drones that entered the restricted airspace over the golf tournament at Augusta National Golf Club in Georgia, while there were eight that entered the space over the F1 race in Florida.“At the F1 [race] in Miami, we had eight drones that entered the space that shouldn’t be there. We were able to bring them down and find out where they came from and find the individuals, arrest them in some occasions. During the Augusta golf tournament, we had 12 that entered a no-fly zone. We were able to bring those down, too,” he said, though he did not specify what counter-drone technology was used to bring them down.
The secretary said the department “learned a couple things” from those instances, adding, “Every single day we improve but that is a huge concern that we have within the stadium. I also have concerns outside the stadium in the fan-fest area, in the soft areas that are outside security.”
