What's Up With These Drones In New Jersey?
0From Episode 535:Dawn Schary
What We Know About Reports of Drone Sightings in New Jersey and New York
Reports of flying objects continue to occur throughout the region. State and local officials say they do not pose a threat but have provided few answers.
For weeks, federal authorities investigating the sightings have provided few answers about what the objects are or their origin, leaving residents unsettled and local leaders frustrated.
Alejandro Mayorkas, the head of the Department of Homeland Security, confirmed in an interview with ABC News on Sunday “that there’s no question that drones are being sighted.”
Mr. Mayorkas said the Federal Aviation Administration changed its rules last year so that drones could fly at night — a possible reason, he said, for the recent uptick in sightings along the East Coast.
He did not offer any other details as to who might be flying the drones or where they are coming from, but he said that the federal government would help the New Jersey State Police respond to the sightings.
Assurances from state and federal officials that the sightings do not indicate a threat to residents have done little to allay public concerns. Lawmakers have expressed frustration with the lack of information, and are urging the federal government to share more about its investigation.
President-elect Donald J. Trump has also weighed in, suggesting that the government was concealing information about the sightings. “Otherwise, shoot them down!!!” he posted on his Truth Social platform.
Here’s what to know about the flying objects:
What are they?
Pictures and videos of the purported drones show bright objects illuminated against a dark night sky. Some move while others appear to hover in place. Residents and law enforcement officers who have observed the objects say that their lights sometimes go out suddenly, enveloping them in darkness.
Facebook groups and Reddit threads dedicated to the sightings have accumulated thousands of posts. One Facebook group has tens of thousands of members who share videos and swap theories.
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On Thursday, the mystery made its way to the White House, where a spokesman for the National Security Council, John Kirby, said at a news conference that federal investigators had been unable to corroborate reports of any unauthorized drones above New Jersey.
“To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully,” Mr. Kirby said.
Officials with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security and the F.B.I. said they had cross-referenced the reported sightings with flight paths related to Kennedy, LaGuardia and Newark Liberty Airports, and concluded that many of the observed objects were actually planes taking off or landing.
At a press briefing last week Sabrina Singh, a spokeswoman for the Pentagon, said that the reported objects were not drones operated by the U.S. military and that officials did not believe they were “coming from a foreign entity or adversary.” Local officials and residents have expressed their frustration with federal authorities and the little information they’ve provided publicly so far.
Representative Chris Smith, Republican of New Jersey, said in a statement on Friday that the White House’s attitude toward the sightings had been “dismissive.”
“The Biden administration has an obligation to the American people to figure out and tell us what is going on immediately,” Mr. Smith added.
Image
A flying object with four lights is seen in the night sky.
An image from a video taken in Flanders, N.J., on Dec. 3. Representative Chris Smith, Republican of New Jersey, said that the White House’s attitude toward the sightings had been “dismissive.”Credit...@xGabbyNu/TMX, via Associated Press
When did the sightings start and where are they occurring?
The wave of sightings began in northern New Jersey in mid-November after personnel inside the Picatinny Arsenal, an Army facility in Morris County, spotted what they said was a drone flying near the base. Days later, reports of the sightings began pouring into the New Jersey State Police, according to a letter with Thursday’s date that the state’s governor, Philip D. Murphy, sent to President Biden and posted on social media.
The initial sightings were clustered in a few counties in northern New Jersey, but the phenomenon quickly spread across the state, including to coastal areas in the south and to the Philadelphia suburbs.
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