CNN
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Mysterious flying objects overhead. Concern and confusion. And calls for military intervention.
This isn’t the plot of “War of the Worlds,” but rather the result of numerous possible drone sightings in recent weeks. The flying objects have been spotted over residential neighborhoods, restricted sites and critical infrastructure.
The sightings have put intense pressure on federal agencies to provide more information about the aircraft, as officials have urged calm and emphasized there is no evidence suggesting the sightings pose a security threat.
“I want to assure the American public that we are on it,” Department of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday on ABC’s “This Week.”
Reported drone activity prompted at least one airport – New York’s Stewart International Airport – to temporarily close its runways for about an hour on Friday night.
“This has gone too far,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Saturday, adding last month she “directed the New York State Intelligence Center to actively investigate drone sightings and coordinate with federal law enforcement to address this issue.”
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer said he’s asking the DHS to deploy special detection systems that use 360-degree technology to detect drones.
“If the technology exists for a drone to make it up into the sky, there certainly is the technology that can track the craft with precision and determine what the heck is going on,” Schumer said Sunday while discussing the technology.
The FBI and DHS said in a joint statement Thursday there is “no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.”
Despite reassurances from federal officials, local politicians continue to press for more information and resources to investigate the sightings. In Morris County, New Jersey, officials have called for the “federal government to marshal all federal resources at its disposal, including the military, to end the unauthorized flight of drones over our county and other parts of New Jersey.”
Last week, a Chinese citizen who is a legal permanent resident of the US was criminally charged after allegedly taking unauthorized drone footage at Vandenburg Space Force Base in California as SpaceX was launching “a National Reconnaissance Office payload,” according to a criminal complaint.
Yinpiao Zhou was arrested December 9 at San Francisco International Airport, preparing to board a flight to China, the US Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California said. He was charged with failure to register his drone and violation of national defense airspace.
Drones, a broad term for unmanned aerial vehicles, are widely owned across the United States. Around 792,000 drones are registered with the FAA, nearly evenly divided between commercial and recreational use. They are used in various industries, including photography, agriculture and law enforcement.
There remains significant confusion about the exact nature of the sightings and how many are cases of “mistaken identity,” as suggested by Mayorkas and White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby.
Here’s more on what we know and don’t know about the reported sightings.
Drone sightings have been reported in at least eight states: New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts, Virginia California and Ohio.
Concerns escalated after drones were spotted near the Picatinny Arsenal, a US military research facility, and over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster, according to military officials and state lawmakers. The sightings prompted the FAA to issue temporary flight restrictions over the properties.
“Several instances of unidentified drones entering the airspace” were also reported above Naval Weapons Station Earle, a US Navy base south of Middletown, although no direct threats were identified.
Democratic Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey posted videos to his X account showing what appeared to be a cluster of drones flying over the Round Valley Reservoir Thursday night. But on Saturday, he acknowledged most of the aircraft he initially thought were drones were “almost certainly planes,” he posted on X
Representatives from the federal agencies investigating the sightings have briefed local officials behind closed doors, stating the possible drones sometimes appear to fly in a coordinated pattern and can remain in flight for up to six hours, according to Montvale, New Jersey, Mayor Mike Ghassali.
New York State Police said Friday afternoon in a post on X they had received “numerous reports of drone sightings over the past 24 hours” and they were investigating the reports. “We have no evidence at this time that any of the reported sightings pose a public safety threat.”
Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said the drones, often seen flying at night, have been spotted hovering over critical infrastructure, including Port Liberty New York near the Goethals Bridge, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and Fort Wadsworth, one of the oldest military installations in the country.
Hochul announced Sunday that federal authorities are deploying a new “state-of-the-art drone detection system” to the state. She continued to call for the passing of the federal Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act, which she said would “give New York and our peers the authority and resources required to respond to circumstances like we face today.”
Hochul spoke with Mayorkas twice on Saturday regarding the ongoing drone activity in her state, according to a source familiar with the conversations.
Connecticut State Police announced Friday they have deployed a drone detection system to assist in the investigation of unauthorized drone sightings reported over Fairfield County.
“It’s very unsettling to public safety and security, both here in Fairfield and elsewhere,” Republican state Sen. Tony Hwang said in a statement Friday.
Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said his administration is “aware of” reported drone sightings and is taking them seriously. The Democratic governor said Friday evening he directed the Pennsylvania State Police to further investigate the sightings, and police will be flying helicopters to try to “determine where these drones are originating from and what the purpose of these drones are.”
In Massachusetts, Democratic Gov. Maura Healey posted on X Saturday about the “growing number of drone sightings” in her state. She said state police were working alongside “local and federal partners” and urged drone operators to adhere to regulations.
Two men were arrested Saturday night on trespassing charges after a drone came “dangerously close” to Logan International Airport in Boston, police said in a statement.
And in Virginia, GOP Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a Saturday statement state police and the Department of Emergency Management were coordinating closely with “numerous federal partners” to respond to drone reports. He emphasized the “significant number of national security and critical infrastructure sites” in Virginia.
“There’s no question that people are seeing drones,” Mayorkas told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Sunday. “And I want to assure the American public that we, in the federal government, have deployed additional resources, personnel, technology to assist the New Jersey State Police in addressing the drone sightings.”
The FBI and DHS have said they believe most of the drone sightings are cases of “mistaken identity,” with members of the public misidentifying small, legally operating manned aircraft as drones.
“We know of no threat or nefarious activity,” Mayorkas said. “If we learn of any cause for concern, we will be transparent in our communication of it.”
“I can tell you from my firsthand experience conducting operations for the FBI, as well as investigations into the suspected sighting of drones at critical infrastructure, it was fairly common for planets, crewed aircraft and even low Earth orbit satellites to be misidentified as drones at night,” Adams said.
At a news briefing on Saturday, an FBI official reiterated the sightings were largely manned aircraft mistaken for drones. The official noted similar flight approach patterns from nearby airports matched the visual sightings reported to tip lines.
The FBI official said the tip line has received 5,000 tips, but fewer than 100 have led to leads “deemed worthy of further investigative activity.” No evidence supporting “large-scale UAS activity” has been found, the official said, using the acronym for “unmanned aircraft system.”
There’s been a “slight overreaction” to the reports, the FBI official said. Still, “we can’t ignore the sightings that have been there, and we are concerned about those just as much as anybody else is,” the official added.
An official with the Department of Defense, however, was less confident about the nature of the sightings.
“We don’t know if it’s malicious, if it is criminal. But I will tell you that it is – it is irresponsible,” the official said. “Here on the military side, we are just as frustrated with the irresponsible nature of this activity.”
The official added highly trained security personnel have reported sightings of drones at Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Weapons Station Earle, both in New Jersey. The points of origin and operators have not been identified, the official said.
The Pentagon shut down speculation the drones may originate from a foreign entity or adversary on Wednesday, hours after US Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a New Jersey Republican, told Fox News the drones were from “a mothership” from Iran that is “off the East Coast of the United States of America.”
“There is not any truth to that,” deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said Wednesday. “There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there’s no so-called mothership launching drones towards the United States.”
The FBI is leading the investigation into the sightings alongside the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, while the US Coast Guard is assessing jurisdictional responses.
On Sunday, US Sen. Amy Klobuchar of Minnesota said the US government needs to be more transparent about the reported sightings. “One, we need a briefing for the members of the Senate to figure out what’s going on here,” the Democrat said during an appearance on CBS’ “Face the Nation.” “Two, we need more transparency.”
Despite federal officials’ assurances the drones don’t pose a public safety threat, Belleville, New Jersey, Mayor Michael Melham has said he has received guidance police should call the county bomb squad and local fire departments should wear hazmat suits if they encounter a downed drone.
“We just don’t know what these things are, so we are being cautious,” Melham said.
In contrast to federal officials’ pleas for calm regarding the sightings, Trump has urged the Biden administration to either release any information it has about the mysterious sightings or shoot the drones out of the sky.
“Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge. I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social.
US Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who sits on the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, similarly said Thursday the aircraft “should be shot down, if necessary, because they’re flying over sensitive areas.”
The source noted the government has various strategies that can be deployed if a drone poses an imminent threat, but so far, the mysterious flights have not been deemed threatening.
“Blowing it out of the sky is the last resort,” the source said.
Part of the challenge in monitoring drone activity stems from the fact regulation of the skies is almost entirely under federal jurisdiction, according to the chief executive of a company tracking unauthorized drone flights.
FAA regulations allow operators of recreational drones to fly up to 400 feet above the ground in airspace not controlled by FAA air traffic controllers. The FAA does grant waivers on a case-by-case basis to those wanting to operate drones in more congested airspace or at higher altitudes.
Missy Cummings, one of the Navy’s first female fighter pilots, thinks there would be a different level of action from authorities if people were in danger from the possible drone sightings.
“People don’t want to hear this, but probably a significant number are manned aircraft, although I do think that they are legitimately seeing drones,” Cummings said.
