The federal government repeatedly failed to identify drones flying over sensitive U.S. military bases last year, the Wall Street Journal reported last weekend. There is no getting around the fact that this is a significant national security failure, as many in the military and intelligence community concede.

At the center of the story is Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, which hosts two F-22 fighter jet squadrons and an important Air Force intelligence unit. The intrusions were revealed last month by Christopher Sharp, an independent journalist who filed a freedom of information request. This brought to light military witness reports about drone sightings, including of some drone swarms flying over and spying on the base. The reports included eyewitness sightings of drones with cameras and rotors.