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Two years ago, A Chinese balloon The size of three school buses flew into the air at 60,000 feet, and drifted across the continental United States for seven days. It passed over sensitive security areas, including Malmstrom Air Force Base in Great Falls, Montana, which houses missile stockpiles and nuclear defense infrastructure. Only after it was shot down did we learn that the “civilian research balloon,” which President Biden claimed “wasn’t a major security breach,” was communicating with China through an American ISP and equipped with thousands of pounds of equipment, including a “massive surveillance payload.”
One would think that the President of the United States and our country's federal law enforcement agencies would have learned a lesson from this blatant security breach, however, dozens of… Mysterious drones They have been spotted in the skies over New Jersey and New York City in recent weeks, near the Picatinny Arsenal military base, the Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster and the Verrazano Bridge in my district that connects the U.S. Army Garrison in Brooklyn to Fort Hamilton and the U.S. Coast Guard on Staten Island. New York Station, the largest of its kind on the East Coast.
The US Military Research Center denies that the drones belong to the state of New Jersey
We know from the sheer size of these drones that they are not commercially available drones; Some have been described as being 15 feet long, “unusually large,” or similar to the size of a car. the Drones are very large It is common that a medical helicopter in New Jersey was prevented from picking up a seriously injured accident victim.
Despite requesting briefings from the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and urging the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) to enforce Temporary drone flight restrictions Until the origins of these devices are identified, our federal agencies charged with keeping us safe have no idea where these drones come from or who may be operating them.
At a House Homeland Security Committee hearing this week, I asked officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) whether these drones were likely ours, since there are federal programs that test unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), such as System Evaluation and the Validation of Emergency Responders (SAVER) program, which supports emergency response agencies by providing evaluations of commercially available equipment, including drones, to assist in purchasing decisions. SAVER recommendations strengthen law enforcement's capabilities to address complex threats, detect hazardous materials, and protect public safety.
The answer was: “I don't know that's the case, and I can't really comment on that.”
This would be the best case scenario because New Jersey has taken an active role in increasing the visibility of drone technology. The SAVER program is integrating drones into its public safety applications, such as search and rescue, disaster response and damage assessments, and the New Jersey Institute of Technology participated in a first-of-its-kind ship-to-shore experiment. Delivered drones to demonstrate the ability of UAS to provide life-saving aid to victims of disasters, such as a hurricane or system-wide failure of electrical or communications infrastructure. The National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL) has also been testing UAS platforms in New York City to gain more knowledge about how These devices It can overcome urban challenges, such as high-rise buildings, population density and diverse environmental conditions.
However, the NYPD and our local military bases have no knowledge of these tests occurring either.
At the hearing, the FBI said these drones could range from “sophisticated government actors/adversaries” who want to harm us, all the way to “counterterrorism matters” to just a “nuisance drone” that could cause harm, but they “Don't do that.” I don't know the answer to our questions yet.
During the same hearing, my colleague, Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey, suggested they just shoot one out of the sky to find out. In his area, an officer with the Ocean County Sheriff's Office witnessed 50 drones launching from the water.
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the Safety and security The safety of the American people should always be our top priority, and we need to know if these devices pose a threat to our homeland. While drones can be a tremendous tool for our law enforcement agencies, uncontrolled and unidentified flights near sensitive locations require immediate action and close coordination across our federal agencies. The fact that the current administration and its agencies have neither blocked these goals nor acted with urgency is shocking, alarming, and unacceptable.
Anything less than real answers and a plan of action leaves us vulnerable to threats we cannot ignore.
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