A US warship fired at a drone that was terrorizing a Navy destroyer off the coast of California for weeks in 2019 after the Navy deployed special 'ghostbuster' teams to deal with them, new documents reveal.
The series of encounters with suspected UAVs, or unmanned aerial vehicles, in July 2019, saw as many as six mystery aircraft swarm several US Navy warships close to a sensitive training area at the Channel Islands, according to The Drive, which obtained Navy ship log documents via FOIA requests.
It was originally thought that these swarms of 'tic tac' shaped drones only affected the Navy for a few days in mid-July, but new documents reveal that Navy officials were still dealing with these encounters throughout the month.
New information revealed that on July 20, the USS Russell fired five shots at the drones - which The Drive worked out could fly at speeds of up to 45 miles an hour and traveled at least 100 nautical miles, far exceeding the capabilities of any commercially-available unmanned aircraft - in a UAV exercises, according to ship logs.
The USS Russell (pictured) and several other navy ships experienced drone swarms during July 2019. New documents reveal the Navy dealt with attacks for weeks
The USS Russell sent a ghostbusters team out around 11am on July 20 after drones were spotted near the ship. A ghostbuster is a rifle shaped tool that jams radio frequencies between the drone and its operator
The USS Russell's ship logs showed that it fired five shots at the swarm of drones on July 20, including one misfire
The USS Russell experienced a 'counter' with the drones around 9.30am on July 20, shooting off fives rounds around 11am, with at least one misfire.
Two days later, the USS Russell sent out a 'ghostbusters' team around 10.30am on July 23. The team 'completed' their mission around 11am.
The Drive defined a 'ghostbuster' as a rifle-shaped lower-end counter UAS device that jams radio frequencies between the drone and its operator.
It is unknown if the USS Russell already had 'ghostbusters' on board the ship or if it was bought in specifically to combat the increase in drone presence.
The USS Kidd sent out a SNOOPIE team around 2.30am after spotting drones on July 20, before the USS Russell
![Around 3.30am, the USS Paul Hamilton reported 'multiple drones spotted off [the] bow' of the ship and sent out a SNOOPIE team](https://i.dailymail.co.uk/1s/2021/12/19/00/51969333-10324965-image-a-18_1639873470123.jpg)
Around 3.30am, the USS Paul Hamilton reported 'multiple drones spotted off [the] bow' of the ship and sent out a SNOOPIE team
Drones were spotted off the USS Russell on July 20. The ship sent out SNOOPIE teams and a ghostbusters team after the USS Paul Hamilton and Kidd sent out SNOOPIE teams earlier in the morning
The USS Russell indicated on July 20 that it had a 'counter' with a UAS
The USS Russell's ship log was heavily redact on July 30, when it experience another swarm of drones, and it is unclear what happened in the day few days following the drone appearance
The ship sent another ghostbusters team out 10 days later on July 30 after several other ships indicated drone presence. A Ship Nautical Or Otherwise Photographic Interpretation and Exploitation (SNOOPIE) team was sent out in the early morning hours and ghostbusters were sent out shortly after following two other ships who did the same.
Earlier, the USS Kidd sent out a SNOOPIE team around 2.30am, while the USS Paul Hamilton sent out a team around 3.30am.
The USS Russell also sent out a 'Small Craft Action Team,' or SCAT, which provides 360-degree protection to ships and are typically used for small boat attacks. At the same time, the USS Bunker Hill also sent out a SCAT and SNOOPIE team.
However, the USS Russell's ship logs were heavily redacted on July 30 and it is unclear what the USS Russell did in the following days.
The ship's logs also indicated that an unidentified admiral boarded the ship on July 22, shortly before the UAVs exercises started and they left the ship on July 31.
It is unclear what their purpose on the ship was, or if it had any connection to the drone presence.
The USS Russell fired five shots at drones around 11am on July 20, with at least one misfire document. Multiple ships, including Russell, Kidd, and Paul Hamilton sent out SCAT teams (pictured), SNOOPIEs, and ghostbuster teams to combat drones
In addition, the Navy was already engaged in an investigation - which began on July 16 after drones were spotted on July 14 - during the admiral's visit. The information was later sent to the Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Michael Gilday on July 18.
The Navy was not able to identify the drones during their investigation.
