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Throughout New Jersey, reports of mysterious drone sightings have been on the rise for weeks, with people contacting authorities and posting on social media about air vehicles behaving strangely, especially at night. Reports have also spread in New York City, with alleged sightings in Staten Island, Brooklyn and Queens. The US Federal Aviation Administration imposed a temporary ban in New Jersey this week on drones flying over the Army’s Picatinny Arsenal in Wharton and a golf course of the US president-elect. United Donald Trump in Bedminster. While the mystery has become a growing sensation, almost no information has been available on whether the sightings are connected or represent something out of the ordinary.
Vague and non-committal statements from state and federal authorities have only complicated the matter and fueled public intrigue. On Thursday, however, a joint statement by the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security emphasized that ongoing investigations at the state and federal level have found no evidence of foreign involvement or threats of any kind. The Department of Defense shared the same conclusion at a press conference on Wednesday. Additionally, the FBI and DHS added that none of the sightings have been verified to have been drones.
“We support local law enforcement in New Jersey with numerous detection methods, but we have not corroborated any reported visual sightings with electronic detection,” the US authorities. he said in a statement. “On the contrary, after reviewing the available images, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft, operating legally. There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted airspace.”
Several federal agencies collaborated with the New Jersey State Police on the investigation, but the FBI and DHS noted in their statement that, “while there is no known malicious activity in New Jersey, the reported sightings here they highlight the insufficiency of the current authorities”, apparently referring to weeks of uncertainty about which institution was responsible for producing a public explanation for the sightings.
“Today, I spoke with Liz Sherwood-Randall, White House security adviser, to discuss my concerns about the federal government’s response to the recent drone sightings in NJ,” New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. he wrote in a social media post on Thursday. “I will continue to press the federal government, including the FBI, for answers on behalf of the public.”
Other politicians, including Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand, Democrats of New York, and Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim, Democrats of New Jersey, sent a letter to the FBI, DHS and the Federal Aviation Administration on Thursday to ask more. transparency and a briefing on the investigation.
