Barnegat Light, New Jersey has a very irate coast guard.
Federal authorities have ignored U.S. Coast Guard officials' accounts that the 47-foot-long rescue vessel was tracked by a squadron of 12 to 30 drones while patrolling the Atlantic Ocean earlier this month, even though it witnessed the incident. The reaction of the sailors was not good. A mysterious crowd.
“What's insulting is the implication,” said a Coast Guard member, speaking on condition of anonymity. “It suggests that we are fighting while the people fighting in Washington, D.C., are depressed.”
The sailor spoke to the Post days after the FAA imposed temporary flight restrictions in parts of New Jersey and New York. He said he was one of 12 crew members on the boat that night.
“With so many sightings, we were out in the field to see if we could actually spot the drone,” he explained. “Well, we found some drones. Or, more accurately, they found us.”
He said the drone “came out of nowhere” around 9 p.m. and followed the boat for about 15 minutes. As the ship changed course, so did the drone.
“I'm not good at measuring, but [the swarm] It was about 80-100 feet above us. There were four propellers. 7 feet wide. Flashing lights like I've seen before. Festive green, red and white lights. ”
The swarm of drones kept pace with the Department of Homeland Security ship, which was cruising at “approximately 20 knots, or just over 20 miles per hour.”
The Guardian said the drone eventually rose “perhaps another 100 feet” and then “leaned to the left towards the coastline” and disappeared from view.
“Commercial aircraft don’t move like that,” he said. “I came out there [on the water] Trust me, you can tell the difference when the plane lands in New York. We're not stupid, we know what drones look and sound like. ”
White House Press Secretary John Kirby recently dismissed the Coast Guard's explanation for mass tracking of unmanned drones.
Kirby told reporters Monday that the drones hovering over the Garden State are a “combination” of personal, professional and government aircraft.
“Sightings to date have included a combination of legal commercial, hobbyist, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and even stars that were incorrectly reported as drones. We believe that there are,” Kirby said.
Do you have footage of drones flying over New Jersey or New York? Send it to The Post at drones@nypost.com.
“We have not identified any anomalies or national security or public safety risks in the civil airspace of New Jersey or any other state in the Northeast. Our work continues,” Kirby continued.
Kirby said the Coast Guard likely mistook the incoming passenger plane for a drone, and the government has forensically confirmed that no drone was involved in the encounter.
“Yes,” the guard told the Post. “I can't pretend I know what's going on.” [with the drone activity over the area]because it doesn't. But they weren't the kind of drones you could buy in a store. These were government drones. ”
“I don't care about Kirby.” [DHS head Alejandro] Mallorcans say, “They're full of shit,” he added.
Their orders were to observe and not interact with the drones, he noted.
“But if [the drone swarm] “If they had fired on us or engaged us in any way, we would have fought back,” he said.
Federal authorities faced backlash from local officials, including Rep. Chris Smith (R-N.J.) and Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.), who said they had no concrete explanation for the sudden phenomenon. facing.
At the same time, federal officials have long maintained that drones pose no threat to national security.
More than 1,000 drones have been seen in the skies over New Jersey since Nov. 18, and dozens more have been reported in New York airspace.
