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By Aliss Higham
Reporter
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What's New
A joint statement from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security and other government agencies released on Monday has confirmed there have been more than 5,000 drone sightings over East Coast states in recent weeks.
Why It Matters
Residents across several East Coast states have reported seeing uncrewed aerial systems, also known as drones, flying in the sky. Speculation is growing over why the number of sightings has increased, where the drones may have come from and who is flying them.
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The majority of the sightings have been reported in New Jersey, with reported drone activity also temporarily closing runways at New York's Stewart International Airport for about an hour on Friday. On the same day, airspace above Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio was restricted because of drone activity.
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What To Know
In its statement, the government agencies said the FBI had "received tips of more than 5,000 reported drone sightings in the last few weeks with approximately 100 leads generated" and that the federal government was "supporting state and local officials in investigating these reports."
Who is operating the drones remains unknown, but according to the statement, there appears to be no threat to public safety or national security.
It said: "Having closely examined the technical data and tips from concerned citizens, we assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones.
"We have not identified anything anomalous and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the northeast."
At present, there are almost 800,000 drones registered with the Federal Aviation Authority. Any drone that weighs more than 0.55 pounds must be registered.
What People Are Saying
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas: "If there is any reason for concern, if we identify any foreign involvement or criminal activity, we will communicate with the American public accordingly. Right now we are not aware of any."
President-elect Donald Trump: "Our military knows where they took off from … And for some reason they [federal officials] don't want to comment. And I think they'd be better off saying what it is. Our military knows, and our president knows. And for some reason they want to keep people in suspense." He did not cite evidence for his claims.
New Jersey Republican Representative Chris Smith: "The elusive maneuvering of these drones suggests a major military power sophistication that begs the question whether they have been deployed to test our defense capabilities—or worse—by violent dictatorships, perhaps maybe Russia, or China, or Iran, or North Korea."
Pentagon press secretary Major General Pat Ryder: "There are thousands of drones flown around the U.S. on a daily basis. So as a result, it's not that unusual to see drones in the sky, nor is it an indication of malicious activity or any public safety threat. And so the same applies to drones flown near U.S. military installations."
What's Next
While the Biden administration has said there is no major concern over the increased drone sightings, Senate Majority leader Chuck Schumer has called for "special drone detection" to be deployed over New Jersey and New York. Other lawmakers have backed his call.
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