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By Khaleda Rahman
National Correspondent
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A "drone detection system" is being deployed to New York after a series of mysterious drones were spotted flying over parts of the East Coast in recent weeks.
The sightings have been reported in New Jersey and New York since November, sparking alarm from residents. However, authorities have stressed that the drones do not appear to pose any threat to public safety.
"In response to my calls for additional resources, our federal partners are deploying a state-of-the-art drone detection system to New York State," Governor Kathy Hochul said in a statement on Sunday.
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Hochul said the system will support state and federal law enforcement in their investigations into the matter, but she said further assistance from Congress is needed.
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"Passing the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act will give New York and our peers the authority and resources required to respond to circumstances like we face today," she said.
Hochul's office has been contacted for further comment via email.
The Biden administration's response to the drone activity has sparked criticism, with some accusing the government of "lying."
Authorities have said there was no evidence to suggest any foreign involvement or that the drones posed any threat.
"We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus," the FBI and Department of Homeland Security said in a joint statement on Thursday.
The statement said that a review of the reported sightings shows that many are actually manned aircraft being operated lawfully, and there have been no reported sightings in any restricted airspace. "While there is no known malicious activity occurring in New Jersey, the reported sightings there do, however, highlight the insufficiency of current authorities," the agencies said.
In a White House call with reporters on Saturday, senior officials from the FBI, Pentagon, the Federal Aviation Administration, and other agencies stressed that there was no evidence that the drones posed a threat.
An FBI official said on the call that public concern is understandable and that authorities are "doing our best" to find the origins of the drone activities, but added: "I think there has been a slight overreaction."
On Friday, the runways at Stewart International Airport, north of New York City, were shut down for about an hour due to drone activity in the airspace, Hochul said.
"This has gone too far," she said in a statement that urged Congress to pass legislation to give more investigative power to state and local law enforcement and strengthen the FAA's oversight of drones.
"Extending these powers to New York State and our peers is essential," she said. "Until those powers are granted to state and local officials, the Biden administration must step in by directing additional federal law enforcement to New York and the surrounding region to ensure the safety of our critical infrastructure and our people."
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday that he is "working to pass a bill in the Senate to give local law enforcement more tools for drone detection."
In the post, he called for Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to deploy "special drone-detection tech" to New York and New Jersey.
Schumer told reporters on Sunday that he is calling for Robin Radar Systems to be sent because they use "360-degree technology."
"If the technology exists for a drone to make it up into the sky, there certainly is the technology that can track the craft with precision and determine what the heck is going on," he said. Schumer's office has been contacted for further comment via email.
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has called for the federal government to direct more resources to investigate the drone sightings.
Murphy said on Sunday that he had met with New Jersey state police officials and radar technicians who are "surveying the area for unmanned aircraft systems."
"The public deserves clear answers—we will keep pushing the federal government for more information and resources," he said on X.
Mayorkas said on X that the Biden administration had "quickly deployed personnel and technology" to New Jersey.
He said that many of the "reported sightings have turned out to be piloted aircraft" and the "technology we have deployed to New Jersey has confirmed this."
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