Highlighting the central role FBI Redstone plays in combating the evolving threats of drones, Sen. Katie Britt credited the facility’s “technological infrastructure and training facilities necessary to develop and implement effective counter-UAS strategies.”
Britt (R-Montgomery) made her remarks at a Senate Judiciary Committee hearing on “Securing the Skies: Law Enforcement, Drones, and Public Safety.”
Witnesses included Michael Torphy, unit chief and supervisory special agent for the FBI’s UAS (unmanned aircraft systems) and Counter-UAS at Redstone Arsenal; and Steven Willoughby, director of Counter-UAS Program Management at the Department of Homeland Security.
Torphy responded to Britt’s question about how the FBI is “keeping up with countering the technological advancements and increasing lethality of drones?”
“[FBI Redstone has] developed really strong relationships with the Department of Defense entities and contractor community down there … so it is just absolutely the perfect place for us to be doing this work,” he said. “It’s about having that proximity to the other important parties in this space and not just the Army, but with the other armed forces as well.”
Acknowledging the value of the collaborations, Britt asked, “As you’re looking at the increased number of threats, what additional authorities do you need to adequately address these concerns?”
Torphy answered by emphasizing the importance of cooperation from non-federal entities.
“The most important one that would deliver the most bang for the buck would be opening up the detection capabilities to all state, local, tribal, territorial, law enforcement, correctional institutions as well,” he said. “… it’s very difficult to fight the enemy that you can’t see.”
Courtesy of 256 Today
President Donald Trump’s FBI Director is telling people to visit Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville if they want to see what a top of the line law enforcement center really looks like.
U.S. Rep. Dale Strong (R-Huntsville), Vice Chairman of Commerce, Justice, Science Appropriations Subcommittee, spoke with FBI Director, Kash Patel, Wednesday regarding the Bureau’s Fiscal Year 2026 budget request.
During the hearing, Representative Strong questioned Director Patel on Huntsville’s role in keeping Americans safe.
“I wish everybody would go down to Huntsville, Alabama. It is our premier, experienced law-enforcement capability center and training facility that the interagency only wishes they had.”
–@FBIDirectorKash pic.twitter.com/wtflGuZFDg
— Dale W. Strong (@RepDaleStrong) May 7, 2025
“What I saw while I was there was the best example of what I see when appropriators work with the bureau to defend the nation and I wish everybody would go down to Huntsville, Alabama,” Patel said. “It is our premier, premier experienced law-enforcement capability center and training facility that the interagency only wishes they had.”
Patel visited the site alongside U.S. Sens. Katie Britt (R-Montgomery) and Tommy Tuberville (R-Auburn) in April.
What we have down there in cyber, in long-range missile defense capabilities, nested there with NASA and the Department of Defense and further programs, including our terrorism explosive device center, which the world relies on to stop bombs from going off and so much more is down in Huntsville, Alabama.
“And the reason it’s there is because appropriators were brilliant enough to provide a space outside of Washington, D.C. to take a geographic footprint and save money instead of rebuilding here in Washington,” Patel continued, “to do it for half the cost in Alabama and that’s why we’re moving 500 FBI employees this year to Huntsville because the technical expertise they possess and we do not want to remove from the FBI is nested in Huntsville and not Washington DC and in order to train the future men and women.
“The FBI, the DHS, the DOD and every other intelligence agency we have they’re already asking us ‘When do we get to go to Redstone?’ So, I encourage everyone to go down there.”
Strong also highlighted the facility during the hearing.
“Let me start by shining a light on my district, Alabama’s Fifth Congressional District, which includes Huntsville, Alabama, and Redstone Arsenal. The FBI’s presence at Redstone Arsenal dates back over 50 years to 1971,” Strong said. “Currently, FBI Redstone seats over 2,000 personnel and includes personnel from 20 of the FBI’s 30 sections. Time and again North Alabama has answered the call to support the FBI with a second to work for state-of-the-art facility and plenty of room for cost-effective and responsible growth.”
WATCH:
Yaffee is a contributing writer to Yellowhammer News and hosts “The Yaffee Program” weekdays 9-11 a.m. on WVNN. You can follow him on Twitter @Yaffee
U.S. Rep. Dale Strong believes Huntsville’s Redstone Arsenal is more than capable of accommodating the base’s projected high level of growth. On Thursday, the Congressman joined The Dale Jackson Show to discuss the installation’s expected progress and the changes taking place inside the FBI, including the relocation of several thousand agents to Huntsville.
“We have right around 45,000 acres, plenty of room to grow,” said Strong (R-Huntsville). “We’ve got the workforce to take care of the jobs. You look at it, you’ve got about 2200 already in seats right now. You’ve got the cyber side of the house. Buildings complete. They’re filling it. That’ll be another 2000 there, along with the other 500 that Patel had mentioned about three weeks ago.”
He spoke about the ongoing de-weaponization of the FBI, following its leadership’s unwarranted crusade for four years against everyday Americans.
“There are some tentacles there that we can work well with. You look at cyber, you look at training, and you talk about cleaning out the beltway,” Strong continued. “I think that’s the first thing we’ve got to do to be sure that the FBI is not weaponized against the American people. The issue mainly is with the J Edgar Hoover Building. You start looking, you’re looking at what, 6000 plus employees there.”
“The problem is with the fifth floor in Washington, D.C. You know, using the FBI, think about it. They forgot about the wiretap of Trump Tower. Does anybody believe there’s a problem with that? You start looking at what else they’ve done. Those FISA warrants. Used it against the American people. It’s only supposed to be used against foreigners.”
Despite the years-long corruption, Strong has faith that one man can right the ship.
“It’s definitely become a cesspool there,” he stated. “Donald Trump said he was going to address it during the campaign, and I trust that that’s going to be taken care of.”
Redstone Arsenal currently has over 1,300 FBI personnel on base. According to Reuters, the bureau had over 9,000 employees in Washington as of June 2024.
Austen Shipley is News Director for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation Kash Patel is relocating 500 agents from Washington D.C. to Redstone Arsenal in Huntsville. FBI managers received notification last Friday at a meeting, shortly after Patel was sworn in as the next Director.
https://x.com/KenDilanianNBC/status/1893065613599482108
The move follows a targeted effort from Alabama’s federal lawmakers, in particular, U.S. Senators, Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville. The pair urged Director Patel to immediately fill 1,000 of the open slots at the FBI’s Redstone campus in a letter just days beforehand.
“Given the strategic investments at Redstone Arsenal and how its synergies align with your mission of restoring the FBI’s focus to the safety and security of the American people, we urge you to assign an additional 1,000 employees to FBI-Redstone as a first step to ultimately filling the approximately 4,000 open slots the campus can accommodate,” the Senators wrote. “This will send a message to our adversaries that the FBI’s leadership is back to prioritizing the pressing threats to our homeland. We look forward to working closely with you to Make America Safe Again.”
In his confirmation hearing, Patel confirmed to Senator Britt that he will be working to bring a significant portion of the FBI’s workforce to Huntsville.
“Senator, you have that commitment,” Patel told Britt. “This is a great example real quick of the FBI’s capabilities and infrastructure systems around the country that already exist to the tune of billions. And not only is it, I believe, a 38,000-acre sprawling campus, this Congress billeted 2,500 seats, but 4,000 seats still remain open. So let’s go to work. I’ll come to Alabama and let’s fill those seats.”
Redstone Arsenal currently has over 1,300 FBI personnel on base. According to Reuters, the bureau had over 9,000 employees in Washington as of June 2024.
Austen Shipley is the News Director for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten
FBI Director Kash Patel told Sens. Katie Britt and Tommy Tuberville he will fill open positions at the FBI’s campus on Redstone Arsenal.
Patel’s comments came ahead of his confirmation hearing before the Senate Judiciary Committee last week. He was confirmed today by the full Senate.
Britt (R-Montgomery) and Tuberville (R-Auburn) sent a letter to Patel today following his confirmation urging him to immediately fill 1,000 of the open slots at the agency’s campus in Huntsville.
“We are proud to represent the great state of Alabama, home to Redstone Arsenal which is the epicenter of the FBI’s technological capabilities and advanced training,” they wrote. “As threats to our nation become more sophisticated, FBI-Redstone Arsenal’s operations will need to continue growing.
“… we urge you to assign an additional 1,000 employees to FBI-Redstone as a first step to ultimately filling the approximately 4,000 open slots the campus can accommodate. This will send a message to our adversaries that the FBI’s leadership is back to prioritizing the pressing threats to our homeland.”
At Patel’s committee hearing last week, Britt extended him an invitation to visit Huntsville’s state-of-the-art FBI facilities and secured a commitment from Patel to fill the open jobs.
“Senator, you have that commitment,” he said. “And this is a great example, real quick, of the FBI’s capabilities and infrastructure systems around the country that already exist to the tune of billions. And not only is it, I believe, a 38,000-acre sprawling campus . . . but 4,000 seats remain open.
“So, let’s go to work. I’ll come to Alabama. Let’s fill those seats.”
Courtesy of 256 Today.
The FBI is continuing to grow its presence on Redstone Arsenal.
The agency has transformed the base into a second headquarters of sorts, complete with more than a thousand employees, the latest technology, and cutting-edge field training.
At the annual Redstone Update, Johnnie Sharp Jr., assistant director of the bureau’s IT Infrastructure Division, went into detail about the progress taking place, specifically the organization’s Innovation Center.
“The Innovation Center will provide space dedicated to training cyber threat intelligence, digital forensics, and analytical tool development,” Sharp told the sold-out crowd at the Von Braun Center. “We understand 21st century threats are rapidly changing and evolving which requires us to not only be well-trained, but better prepared to defeat them.”
Sharp elaborated on the potential of the facility for agents and organizations partnered with the FBI.
“The Innovation Center will be the epicenter of the FBI’s technology infrastructure and tool development, centralizing our tech talent tools in a connected campus environment,” he said. “Once this building comes online, our goal is to not only utilize the space for training purposes but also for an increased focus on collaboration within the FBI. As well as our partners within the intelligence community, law enforcement, industry, and academia.
“We’re setting a new standard having more of the capabilities that the Innovation Center will house.”
With some 4,000 agents and employees in Huntsville, Sharp said the center’s mission is clear.
“The FBI recognizes that next-generation threats require next-generation assets,” he said. “Creating, fostering, training on, and enhancing our mission with those assets is what the Innovation Center is all about.”
Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News. You can follow him on X @ShipleyAusten