The head of the U.S. Air Force says that Ukraine’s audacious drone attack that damaged or destroyed many of Russia’s long-range bombers has highlighted similar vulnerabilities faced by America’s military. Ukraine snuck more than 100 drones into Russia and remotely launched them to target planes parked outside at military bases.

Ukraine claimed the drones damaged or destroyed more than 40 aircraft at five Russian bases, causing billions of dollars of damage and denigrating the country’s nuclear capabilities. Many American planes and bombers also sit out in the open at bases in the United States, potentially putting them in similar jeopardy.

“I’ve been very, very concerned with that threat for years now,” the Air Force secretary, Troy Meink, told the House Armed Services Committee on Thursday.

Mr. Meink said one of the issues the Air Force faces is that any equipment it needs to protect its planes currently needs to stay within the boundaries of its bases.

“It’s very difficult to deal with, defend against that sort of thing, if you’re restricted to only operating within the geography of your base,” Mr. Meink said. “I think we have to work with the whole government to deal with that threat, because it is huge.”

The secretary added that the Air Force is setting up counter-drone technology as quickly as possible, but technical issues have slowed the process. “It’s very challenging,” Mr. Meink said.

“We’re in danger of losing deterrence,” Congressman Eugene Vindman said. He suggested a select committee look into drone warfare and its potential to destroy billions of dollars in American military weaponry “given the nature of this threat and how far behind we are.”

President Trump has proposed a “Golden Dome” missile shield that some say could protect bases, but military officials said it is far too early to say if such a system could help protect against a widespread drone attack, especially if the drones are launched from American soil.

In the meantime, the military needs to rely on current technologies in order to protect aircraft. The chief of staff of the Air Force, General David Allvin, said, “When something like this happens, it turns the idea of small and less expensive capabilities from an academic conversation to a real conversation because we’ve seen it.”

He did add that the Ukraine drone attack provided a valuable lesson for the U.S. Air Force. “When we see how effective these can be, we need to think about putting them into our offensive arsenal,” General Allvin said.