Slight increase in alleged drone sightings along East Coast It sparked a wave of panicked calls for an investigation Friday from residents and state lawmakers, even as government officials confirmed that the planes in question were, in fact, flying legally, and a retired Port Authority aviation expert told Fox News Digital that fears were overblown.
Drone complaints It started flowing Last month in New Jersey, witnesses and residents first began reporting drone sightings off coastal areas, including Cape May, a scenic town just outside Atlantic City.
Recently, lawmakers in New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, and Maryland reported new alleged sightings of drones in their home states, with some witnesses claiming the aircraft in question were “the size of cars” or were seen flying over sensitive infrastructure or in restricted airspace. .
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, told reporters on Friday that he had done so Written for President Biden To share his concerns about new reports of unmanned aircraft systems (UAS) sightings in New Jersey airspace, he called for more federal resources to investigate the issue.
“It has become clear that more resources are needed to fully understand what is behind this activity,” Murphy wrote in the letter.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy. (AP Photo/Matt Rourke, File)
Other state lawmakers have gone further, calling on the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI to join their investigations into the drones, and one Garden State lawmaker urged that the objects be “shot down” if necessary.
“We've been invaded by drones,” Pequannock Mayor Ryan Herboy told reporters Wednesday evening after a town hall meeting in New Jersey.
“We have no idea who is doing (this) and where they are coming from.”
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., issued a statement Friday citing concerns “about the potential for these unmanned aerial vehicles — many of them as large as a car — to disrupt air traffic and, more alarmingly, be used maliciously.” To threaten national security.”
These statements have added to a growing collective sense of panic — but panic that many in the law enforcement community say is unfounded and unnecessary.
The white house National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby sought to allay those concerns, stressing during a press conference on Thursday that “there is no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a threat to national security or public safety, or have a foreign nexus.”
Others in the law enforcement community echoed that sentiment as well. Retired Port Authority Police Detective Lt. John Ryan told Fox News Digital in an interview Friday that the increase in activity is likely due to two things.
Homeowners are threatening to take matters into their own hands if the government does not act
Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., is shown next to a photo of drones reported in Connecticut. Blumenthal is among the lawmakers who have pushed for action on unmanned aircraft systems (UAS).
The first, he said, is that drones are a rapidly evolving technology that has seen a boom in recreational and commercial use in the United States in the past 10 years. Federal data on drone registration reflects this sharp rise in use, most if not all of which are legal.
Federal data on drone registration reflects this sharp rise in use: As of October of this year, there were more than 790,000 drones registered with the FAA, and nearly 400,000 commercial aircraft registered.
This is “just to give you an idea” of the size of a number Drones are legal in the United Statessaid Ryan, whose extensive police career included a decade working in an emergency position Special Operations Commander at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport, and later Chief Port Authority Officer, whose role includes oversight of all transportation facilities, including Kennedy, LaGuardia, and all other airports and ports in the region.
Map showing drone sightings around New Jersey.
The second mistake, Ryan said, is that the individuals concerned seek help from the wrong authorities.
“The mistake I see people making is that they go to the wrong agencies and ask these questions,” he added.
The FAA is the federal body charged with registering drones and other U.S. aircraft. It is also the body charged with monitoring the use of drones for recreational and commercial purposes in the United States
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“In New Jersey, they were asking the FBI, they were asking the Department of Homeland Security — they were asking everyone but people what they should ask,” Ryan said.
The Pentagon also reiterated this view, noting that the initial assessment showed that the drones were not from another country, and were not shot down because they were not considered a threat to national security.
Kirby echoed that sentiment Thursday. Asked whether the United States would consider banning the use of drones in American airspace, he told reporters, “I don't know that we're at a point now where we're considering that” as a policy option.
