Fury grows as US politicians demand answers over mysterious drones | US News

New Jersey's governor has asked Joe Biden to take control of an investigation into the mysterious and more frequent appearances of several large drones flying over his state, amid growing frustration that federal officials are downplaying the incidents.

Democrat Phil Murphy on Friday released a letter he wrote to the White House expressing growing concern after Pentagon and FBI officials ruled out involvement by the U.S. military or hostile foreign actors in numerous sightings of unexplained flying objects above a dozen objects. counties since mid-November.

It has become clear that more resources are needed to fully understand what is behind this activity, he wrote in the letter released the same day as reports of multiple drones violating airspace at the base of Earle Naval Arms, Monmouth County.

I respectfully urge you to continue to ask relevant federal agencies to work together until they uncover answers about what is behind the UAS. [unmanned aircraft systems] observations.

Annoyance has grown among New Jersey politicians and law enforcement following the proliferation of reports of drone flights in recent weeks, including nearly 50 on Sunday evening alone, according to NJ.com, and their rejection by the White House on Thursday, claiming that they were, at least for the most part, legally operated piloted aircraft.

Some accounts describe car-sized drones, sometimes in groups, flying over sensitive military installations and critical infrastructure such as train stations, reservoirs and power plants. In response, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a no-fly restriction on a military installation in Morris County and President-elect Donald Trump's golf course in Bedminster.

At the Navy weapons station, ABC News reported, a spokesperson said no direct threats had been identified, but personnel were working closely with federal and state agencies to ensure security of our people and our operations.

The White House, Pentagon and FBI have all said they cannot fully explain the origin of the drones, but have indicated there is nothing sinister about them.

“We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a threat to national security or public safety, or that they have a foreign nexus,” said John Kirby, a spokesman for national security of the Biden administration, to reporters during a press briefing Thursday.

He said an unspecified number of still images and video footage of the incidents were analyzed using sophisticated electronic detection technologies and had not been established to involve drones.

Rather, after reviewing the available footage, it appears that many of the reported sightings actually involve legally operated manned aircraft, Kirby said.

Importantly, no drone sightings have been reported or confirmed in restricted airspace, he added, appearing to contradict the narrative of the breach at the Navy weapons station.

A joint statement from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security said investigations had not revealed any malicious activity or intent to this point in New Jersey, but noted that reported sightings there highlighted the inadequacy current authorities.

The New Jersey sightings have parallels with incidents in Europe in recent weeks, also involving unidentified aircraft and military installations. A US air base in Ramstein, Germany, was reportedly targeted; and several small unmanned aerial systems were spotted last month over three British RAF bases used by the US Air Force.

Kirby's comments effectively ruling out any foreign involvement echoed those of Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon's deputy press secretary, from the day before. Our first assessment here is that these are not drones or activities from a foreign entity or adversary, she said.

The government's explanation, or lack thereof, has not impressed politicians, including New Jersey's Murphy, who want more action to protect citizens. Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew told the House Aviation Subcommittee Wednesday that he believes drones could be linked to Iran and warned of a possible national security threat.

Andy Kim, the Democratic senator from New Jersey, released a video on Friday of what he said were several groups of unidentified flying machines, moving erratically, low and fast, each with red flashing lights , green and white. He said he filmed them Thursday evening with local police and that the items did not appear on a regular theft tracking system.

Sightings have also extended well beyond New Jersey. Larry Hogan, the former Republican governor of Maryland, said in a tweet Friday that he personally saw and filmed what appeared to be dozens of large drones over his home in Davidsonville Thursday evening, adding that the incident had lasted approximately 45 minutes.

Like many who have observed these drones, I am unsure whether this increasing activity in our skies poses a threat to public safety or national security. But the public is increasingly concerned and frustrated by the federal government's complete lack of transparency and dismissive attitude, he writes.

The government has the capacity to track them from their point of origin, but has responded negligently. People are rightly demanding answers, but are not getting them.

Some areas of New York have also seen drone activity. In a tweet posted around noon Friday, Kathy Hochul, the state's Democratic governor, repeated the government's line that there is no evidence that these drones pose a threat to public safety or national security, and said state officials are working with partners including the FBI and Department of Homeland Security to protect New Yorkers.

New York's Republican politicians, meanwhile, were not as tolerant. Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella condemned the federal response during a news conference Thursday afternoon.

What if there were 3,000 reports of drone or piloted aircraft sightings over the U.S. Capitol, the White House, or the State House in Albany? There will be an immediate and intense response to figure out what it is and fix the problem, he said.

Millions of people here get nothing, but don't believe what you see. The post-9/11 saying that if you see something, say something, became: If you see something, don't worry about it.

The people of this city, this state and this region deserve answers about what is happening.

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