After a flood of sightings in recent weeks, the Federal Aviation Administration has issued temporary flight restrictions banning drone flights over parts of New Jersey.
The notice, which expires on January 17, 2025, does not include drone operations supporting national defense, homeland security, law enforcement, firefighting, search and rescue, or disaster response missions.
Commercial drone operations are permitted with a valid statement of work, but must be approved by a government special interest airspace exemption and must comply with all applicable FAA regulations.
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Map showing drone density in Monmouth County, New Jersey. (Courtesy of Monmouth County Sheriff's Office)
House Speaker Mike Johnson (R-Louisiana) said the White House, and the U.S. government more broadly, doesn't seem concerned about the increase in sightings in New Jersey and other northeastern states.
“Look, I'm Speaker of the House. I have the exact same frustrations as you and all of us. We don't have answers. This administration isn't providing answers,” Johnson said in an appearance on Fox News. spoke. .
He said he had set up a meeting last week with officials from the Department of Defense, Homeland Security and the FBI, but “we still don't have the answers.”
Social media users said they captured several drones hovering over Fairfield, Connecticut on Thursday, Dec. 12. (Lucy Biggers)
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On Saturday, Biden administration officials hosted a conference call in which they addressed concerns surrounding recent drone sightings.
The call included representatives from the FBI, FAA, National Security Council, DHS, and Department of Defense.
FBI officials say the agency has received 5,000 tips since the first mysterious drone was seen flying over New Jersey in November, and of those 5,000 tips, only a few are open for further investigation. He said fewer than 100 items were needed.
Photo taken on Sunday, December 8, 2024 in the Bayshore neighborhood of Toms River. What appears to be a large drone is seen hovering over the New Jersey area at high altitude. The drone appeared to be well above the 400 feet height allowed by FAA regulations. (Doug Hood/Asbury Park Press)
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FBI officials added that despite the recent increase, 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.”
Fox News Digital’s Danielle Wallace and Audrey Conklin contributed to this report.
