A large number of mysterious drones have been reported flying over New Jersey and across the eastern U.S., sparking speculation and concern over where they came from and why.
In response, the Federal Aviation Administration on Wednesday temporarily banned drone flights in 22 areas of New Jersey where critical infrastructure is located. FAA officials said the flight restrictions were requested by federal security agencies and are effective through Jan. 17.
The FBI, the Homeland Security Department and state agencies have been investigating, but officials say there has been nothing so far to suggest that any drones have posed a national security or public safety threat. In fact, authorities say, many of the drone sightings have actually been legal drones, manned aircraft, helicopters and even stars.
President Joe Biden said Tuesday night that there appears to be nothing nefarious about the flying objects.
Despite federal officials’ comments, many state and municipal lawmakers have nonetheless called for stricter rules about who can fly unmanned aircraft — and for the authority to shoot them out of the sky.
Federal government agencies have the authority to track and disable drones deemed to be threatening, but that power was set to expire after Friday. A temporary spending bill before Congress that would extend that power and avert a government shutdown was in flux Thursday after President-elect Donald Trump called for its rejection.
What has been seen in New Jersey?
Dozens of witnesses have reported seeing drones statewide since mid-November, including near the Picatinny Arsenal, a military research and manufacturing facility, and over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, has said that drone-detection equipment supplied by the federal government has yielded little new information. He declined to describe the equipment except to say it was powerful and could even disable the drones, though he said that’s not legal on U.S. soil.
Murphy urged Congress to give states more authority to deal with the drones.
Meanwhile, federal and local authorities are warning against pointing lasers at suspected drones, because aircraft pilots are being hit in the eyes more often. Authorities also said they are concerned people might fire weapons at manned aircraft that they have mistaken for drones.
But do the drones pose a threat?
The growing anxiety among some residents is not lost on the Biden administration, which has faced criticism from Trump for not dealing with the matter more aggressively.
White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Monday that the federal government has yet to identify any public safety or national security risks.
“There are more than 1 million drones that are lawfully registered with the Federal Aviation Administration here in the United States,” Kirby said. “And there are thousands of commercial, hobbyist and law enforcement drones that are lawfully in the sky on any given day. That is the ecosystem that we are dealing with.”
The federal government has deployed personnel and advanced technology to investigate the reports in New Jersey and other states, and is evaluating each tip reported by citizens, he said.
About 100 of the more than 5,000 drone sightings reported to the FBI in recent weeks were deemed credible enough to warrant more investigation, according to a joint statement by the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Defense.
Who is operating the drones?
Speculation has raged online, with some expressing concerns that the drones could be part of a nefarious plot by foreign agents or clandestine operations by the U.S. government.
Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said it’s unlikely the drones are engaged in intelligence gathering, given how loud and bright they are. And he repeated Tuesday that the drones being reported are not being operated by the Department of Defense.
Asked whether military contractors might be operating drones in the New Jersey area, Ryder rebuffed the notion, saying there are “no military operations, no military drone or experiment operations in this corridor.”
Ryder said additional drone-detecting technology was being moved to some military installations, including the Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey.
Drone activity in the past week led to an hourlong closure of runways at New York’s Stewart International Airport, about 60 miles (100 kilometers) north of Manhattan, a four-hour closure of air space around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, and the arrests of two men in Boston accused by police of flying a drone too close to Logan International Airport.
Officials urge action against the drones
Trump has said he believes the government knows more than it’s saying.
“Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!” he posted on Truth Social.
U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, said he has heard nothing to support the notion that the government is hiding anything. He said a lack of faith in institutions is playing a key part in the saga.
“Nothing that I’m seeing, nothing that I’ve engaged in gives me any impression of that nature. But like, I get it, some people won’t believe me, right? Because that’s the level of distrust that we face,” Kim said Monday.
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut last week called for the drones to be “shot down.”
A Senate bill that would expand federal agencies’ authorities to track and disable drones has been pending since last year. It also includes a pilot program that would allow state and local law enforcement agencies to monitor and disable drones, under supervision by federal authorities. A similar bill in the House was introduced in June.
