U.S. national security officials appeared to dispel concerns about mysterious drones flying over the Northeast in recent calls with reporters, going so far as to describe the national anxiety as “a bit of an overreaction.”
The call, which also included FOX News Digital on Saturday, included representatives from the Biden administration, including representatives from the FBI, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Security Council (NSC), Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and the Department of Homeland Security. It was hosted by a senior official. Department of Defense (DOD).
Government officials have remained tight-lipped about the origin of the drone, which remains under investigation. The mysterious aircraft was first spotted flying over northern New Jersey in mid-November and has been repeatedly sighted by thousands of residents over the past few weeks.
In a call with reporters, FBI officials said the agency has received 5,000 tips since the first mysterious drone was seen flying over the Garden State in November. Of those 5,000 tips, less than 100 required further investigation, officials said.
More than 20 days after the incident, the Pentagon still has no answers about the origins of the mysterious New Jersey drone
In this image taken from a video provided by MartyA45_, multiple drones appear to fly over Randolph, New Jersey on December 4th. (via MartyA45_ /TMX AP, file)
FBI officials added that despite increased drone activity in recent weeks, investigators have not found evidence of large-scale unmanned drone activity.
“We are doing everything in our power to find the origin of that particular…drone activity,” the official said. “But I think there was a bit of an overreaction.”
Echoing comments from FBI representatives, DHS officials said that while they do not dismiss all information about drones as unreliable, “the actual amount of drone activity is less than what is being reported.” It's very likely.”
The Pentagon official added that the agency “has not collected any information or observations indicating that:” [the drones] It is possible that they were collaborating with foreign actors or had malicious intent on their part. ”
“But let me just say simply, we don’t know,” the representative said. “We have not been able to locate or identify the operator or source.”
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New Jersey Congressman Paul Kanitra took photos of what appeared to be multiple drones hovering in New Jersey's skies. (Paul Kanitra/Fox News @Night)
Pentagon officials added that there are limits to investigating the source of the drones.
“We also have significant restrictions on intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance here in our homeland, which is understandably effectively prohibited,” the spokesperson said. “So we don't have the same capabilities or the same methods that we use elsewhere outside the homeland to determine origin.”
“Here, on the military side, as you know, we are equally dissatisfied with the irresponsible nature of this activity,” the official acknowledged.
NSC officials echoed the sentiments of Pentagon representatives, insisting there was no evidence of a foreign adversary's involvement with the drones and no evidence of a threat to public safety.
A map showing some of the locations where a mysterious drone was discovered in December 2024. (Fox News)
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“Obviously we are taking this matter very seriously at this time,” the NSC official said. “We do not believe…that criminal activity is involved, that there is any threat to national security, that there is a particular public safety threat, or that these drones are associated with malicious foreign actors. We have not identified any reason to believe that this is the case.”
FOX News' Daniel Scully contributed to this report.
