Concerns are growing over mysterious drone sightings along the US east coast
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Multiple sightings of aerial objects after sunset have sparked concern along the U.S. east coast and widespread outrage that the federal government is not taking the problem seriously.
Authorities in New Jersey have been inundated with reports since last month drones scattered across the night sky, sometimes in groups and without clear purpose, above the most populous state in the country.
Officials tried to reassure the public but did not offer any explanation for the phenomenon.
“At this time, we have no evidence that the reported drone sightings pose a national or security threat,” the FBI and the US Department of Homeland Security said. public or having connections with foreign countries”. speak this week.
These reassurances have done little to allay fears about the planes, whose owners and headquarters remain a mystery.
“Frankly, it’s disturbing that our officials expect us to believe they don’t know what’s going on. We can shoot down a missile 5,000 miles away, but we can’t determine where these drones come from? said James Dodd, mayor of Dover, New Jersey.
Dover is near Picatinny Arsenal, a US military facility. The Federal Aviation Administration imposed temporary flight restrictions on drone flights over the site last month, citing “exceptional security reasons.” Similar restrictions were announced this month for the area surrounding President-elect Donald Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
No such restrictions were imposed elsewhere in the state, even as drone sightings flooded in.
Dodd was among the New Jersey mayors invited to attend a briefing held by New Jersey state police this week. He said he felt frustrated by what he saw as scant information about a serious problem.
He posted on the town’s website a question-and-answer document he received from the Department of Homeland Security. “At this time, it is unclear who is operating the drone,” the document said.
Reports of drones have spread across the eastern seaboard. Larry Hogan, the former governor of Maryland, wrote on social media that he witnessed “what appeared to be dozens of large drones in the sky” above his home for about 45 minutes on Thursday night. Year.
“Like many people who have observed these drones, I do not know whether the increased activity in our skies is a threat to public safety or national security or not. But the public is increasingly concerned and frustrated with the federal government’s complete lack of transparency and dismissive attitude,” Hogan wrote. He posted video of what he said was a plane.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Friday that the state is investigating drone sightings in her state, cooperating with federal authorities.
Mary-Lou Smulders, director of marketing for Dedrone, a company that helps public safety agencies detect drones, said federal regulations place few limits on the machines’ use. civil drones. Violations include flying too close to airports and sensitive locations such as nuclear power plants and altitudes exceeding 400ft.
Even then, the rules are often flouted. Dedrone’s sensors have recorded more than 1.1 million violations this year.
Smulders said state and local police are not authorized to intercept drones. Those powers are only given to four federal agencies under certain circumstances, making it difficult to crack down on violators.
Federal authorities said they have not detected any malicious activity related to the New Jersey flights. “Maybe some people thought it was funny that they could create this weird thing,” Smulders speculates. “What… what is the purpose of flying around at night? Not much.”
The FBI doubts whether most of the observations were drones. “To the contrary, when reviewing available images, it appears that many of the reported cases were manned aircraft, operating legally,” the agency’s statement to the Department of Homeland Security said.
New Jersey, located between New York City and Philadelphia, has some of the busiest airspace in North America.
Unresolved concerns have led to increasingly urgent calls for action. This week, New Jersey Republican congressman Jeff Van Drew suggested that the flights would take off from an “Iranian drone mother ship” in the Atlantic Ocean.
Trump weighed in on Friday, post on his social media platform that the government should be more ready or shoot down the plane.
US officials said they did not assess that the drone activity was linked to any foreign actor or adversary. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Wednesday that no Iranian ships launched drones toward the United States.
Additional reporting by Felicia Schwartz in Washington
