Tipsheet

California Scrambles to Bolster Drone Defenses After FBI Warns Iran May Target West Coast

Dmitri Bolt
Dmitri Bolt  |  March 13, 2026 11:30 AM

California has moved swiftly to respond to the "unverified" Iranian drone threat just days after the FBI sent a memo to the state's police, warning that Iran could seek to retaliate against the United States for Operation Epic Fury, and could target the West Coast.

State police have begun bolstering drone detection systems, increasing patrols, and closely monitoring critical infrastructure while coordinating with federal partners, as drone mitigation largely remains under federal jurisdiction. Federal law enforcement agencies, including the FBI and DHS, alongside NORAD and the Coast Guard, are also assisting local authorities in strengthening defensive measures and sharing intelligence. 

Local police typically will be relegated to providing intelligence and using detection systems, while leaving actual mitigation measures to federal authorities. However, local police can conduct mitigation operations if they have completed specialized training provided by the FBI in Alabama, according to the California Post. 

For example, the Los Angeles Police Department plans to strengthen its detection and mitigation capabilities by installing two dozen radio-frequency sensors across the city to identify potentially threatening drones, along with mobile mitigation units capable of disabling attacking drones. Officials have declined to provide further details.

In the event of an attack, the state would rely on federal air‑ and missile‑defense assets (NORAD, DoD, DHS, Coast Guard) layered over the West Coast and other offshore approaches.

This comes as it was revealed earlier this week that the FBI informed state police of "unverified information that as of early February 2026, Iran allegedly aspired to conduct a surprise attack using unmanned aerial vehicles from an unidentified vessel off the coast of the United States Homeland, specifically against unspecified targets in California."

While the White House and Governor Gavin Newsom have pushed back on the claim, accusing reporters of spreading panic and insisting there is no “imminent threat,” additional surveillance measures appear to be underway, as California residents spotted a Boeing P-8 Poseidon, the Navy’s “submarine hunter,” flying over the state on Tuesday.

The Boeing P-8 Poseidon is used as a “multi-mission maritime patrol aircraft excelling at anti-submarine warfare, anti-surface warfare, intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, maritime domain awareness and search and rescue,” according to Boeing.

This comes just days after the "Doomsday" plane, the president's aerial command center in the event of a nuclear war, was spotted flying over California for the second time in two months.