It's been more than three weeks since dozens of mysterious drones began appearing in New Jersey's night skies, but the public still hasn't been given a clear insight into what the phenomenon is.
Rep. Jeff Van Drew (RN.J.) suggested that the swarm of drones could be from an Iranian “mother ship.”
The Pentagon rejected his idea.
“There are no Iranian vessels off the coast of the United States, and there are no so-called motherships launching drones toward the United States,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said. He added that there was “no evidence” to suggest the drones were “the work of a foreign enemy.”
“We are not being told the truth,” Van Drew responded on Fox News Thursday. “They treat the American people like we are stupid.”
Although the Pentagon insists the drones are not foreign, the FBI acknowledged it is “concerning” how little the agency knows about them.
Asked whether Americans were “at risk,” Robert Wheeler, deputy director of the FBI's Critical Incident Response Group, said: “There's nothing known that would compel us to say that, but we have I just don't know,” he told Congress. The part I'm curious about. ”
In recent weeks, drones have been flying near sensitive areas such as military research facilities.
Photos taken in the Bayshore neighborhood of Toms River, New Jersey, showed what appeared to be a large drone hovering at high altitude in the area on Sunday. (Doug Hood/Asbury Park Press)
And if the drones are not of foreign origin, onlookers may wonder why it has taken U.S. government agencies so long to figure out who is behind the drones.
“What I can tell you is that many of the detection systems that track and understand are very small scale and fundamentally outdated,” said Doug Berkey, executive director of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies. ” Doug Berkey, executive director of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, told Fox News Digital.
“So I wouldn't be surprised if we still may not be in sync with this situation and understand it at the level that we should understand it,” he added. “After the Cold War, the concept of air defense really took a backseat.”
And Mr Varkey remains unconvinced that drones are not of foreign origin.
“I don't think we can speak definitively about the source, but clearly they indicate some kind of sophistication, scale, and course of action, and that it's likely to be from a hostile source. “It suggests that,” he said.
New Jersey drone sightings: military analyst shoots down national security concerns, suspects hobbyists were involved
“I think they're using them for information and images and things like that, but just to test us to see how we react and to help inform their strategies and operational concepts. There may be.”
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy insisted that drones do not pose a threat to public safety. The FBI is assisting local law enforcement with the investigation and is appealing to the public for assistance through its tip line.
This is not the first time that unidentified drones have been seen flying near US military facilities. Last year, a drone hovered near Langley Air Force Base for more than two weeks, but its origin has not yet been determined. Before that, a Chinese reconnaissance balloon crossed the United States for a week, passing near military installations before being shot down off the East Coast.
“There seem to be few severe consequences. [for the drones]and that poses a very dangerous risk of escalation. ”
None of the New Jersey drones have been shot down or had their systems jammed by U.S. authorities. A drone hovering near Langley was also not intercepted.
“The people who are flying these drones aren't necessarily concerned about their relationship with the Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, because they clearly want safe drones,” said Pramod Abichandani, an associate professor at the NJIT School. “It violates almost every FAA rule for flying.” in Applied Engineering and a drone expert.
“These drones, whether programmed as swarms or not, are flying over populated areas at night and flying around in groups,” he said. “All of this is not freely allowed by the FAA.”
Photos taken in the Bayshore neighborhood of Toms River, New Jersey, showed what appeared to be a large drone hovering at high altitude in the area on Sunday. (Doug Hood/Asbury Park Press)
On December 5th, multiple drones are seen over Bernardsville, New Jersey. (Brian Glenn/TMX/AP)
In military settings, police officers use “swarms” of drones to attack enemies, making them difficult to shoot down.
New Jersey Congresswoman Dawn Fantasia, who relayed the law enforcement briefing, said the drones were “six feet in diameter” and flew in a coordinated manner with their lights off, “appearing to evade detection by conventional methods.” “That's it.”
Mysterious drone sightings continue to be reported in New Jersey
The drone was first spotted on Nov. 18 and has been seen every night since then, flying from dusk until around 11 p.m., with reports of sightings ranging from four to 180 per night.
“We don't know anything, of course. To say there is no known or credible threat is incredibly misleading. I have communicated that belief to all officials. ” she said.
“At this time, I believe military intervention is the only path forward. Without aggressive action, there is no answer.”
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U.S. Northern Command, the military command responsible for defending the U.S. homeland, said it had not yet received any requests for intervention or assistance.
“We are aware of and monitoring reports of unauthorized drone flights near military installations in New Jersey, including Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Weapons Station Earle. “We will introduce you to those facilities to get information about our efforts to ensure the safety and security of our personnel and operations,” a U.S. Northern Command spokesperson told FOX News Digital.
