After weeks of fear and bewilderment about the drones buzzing over parts of New York and New Jersey, U.S. Senator Chuck Schumer is urging the federal government to deploy better drone-tracking technology to identify and ultimately stop the airborne pests.
The New York Democrat is calling on the Department of Homeland Security to immediately deploy special technology that identifies and tracks drones back to their landing spots, according to briefings from his office.
Schumer’s calls come amid growing public concern that the federal government hasn’t offered clear explanations as to who is operating the drones, and has not stopped them. National security officials have said the drones don’t appear to be a sign of foreign interference.
“There’s a lot of us who are pretty frustrated right now,” said Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, on Fox News Sunday. “The answer ‘We don’t know’ is not a good enough answer.”
President-elect Donald Trump posted on social media last week: “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.”
Certain agencies within the Department of Homeland Security have the power to “incapacitate” drones, U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Sunday. “But we need those authorities expanded,” he said, without saying exactly how.
The drones don’t appear to be linked to foreign governments, Mayorkas said.
“We know of no foreign involvement with respect to the sightings in the Northeast. And we are vigilant in investigating this matter,” Mayorkas said.
Last year, federal aviation rules began requiring certain drones to broadcast their identities. It’s not clear whether that information has been used to determine who is operating the drones swarming locations in New York and New Jersey. Mayorkas’ office didn’t immediately respond to questions about whether they’ve been able to identify drones using this capability.
Schumer is calling for recently declassified radar technology to be used to help determine whether an object is a drone or a bird, identify its electronic registration, and follow it back to its landing place.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Sunday said federal officials were sending a drone detection system to the state.
“This system will support state and federal law enforcement in their investigations,” Hochul said in a statement. The governor did not immediately provide additional details including where they system will be deployed.
Dozens of mysterious nighttime flights started last month over New Jersey, raising concerns among residents and officials. Part of the worry stems from the flying objects initially being spotted near the Picatinny Arsenal, a U.S. military research and manufacturing facility and over Trump’s golf course in Bedminster.
Drones are legal in New Jersey for recreational and commercial use, but they are subject to local and Federal Aviation Administration regulations and flight restrictions. Operators must be FAA certified.
Officials from the White House, FBI and DHS on Saturday stressed that most of the recent reported drone sightings in New Jersey and nearby states involved manned aircraft, and there was no evidence of any national security threat.
An FBI official told reporters during an impromptu briefing that the agency was working with 50 local, state and federal partners to look into increased reports. The official said less than 100 of the over 5,000 reported sightings had turned out to merit further investigation, and all of the large fixed-wing reported sightings so far involved manned aircraft.
"The combination of efforts so far ... to include technical equipment, tip line information and noted consults has ... not found any evidence to support large-scale (unmanned aerial systems) activities," the official said, adding that many of the sightings occurred along regular flight paths.
Extensive efforts were underway to investigate the remaining cases, using interviews and analyzes of radar and intelligence, the official added.
"We can't ignore the sightings that have been there," the official said. "We're doing our best to find the origin of those drone activities, but I think there has been a slight over-reaction."
The Federal Aviation Administration restricted the air space around Saturday's Army-Navy football game in Maryland, creating a "No Drone Zone" extending two miles around the stadium, state officials announced. President-elect Donald Trump and J.D. Vance attended the game.
A spate of reported drone sightings that began in New Jersey in mid-November spread in recent days to include Maryland, Massachusetts and other states. The sightings have garnered media attention and prompted creation of a Facebook page called "New Jersey Mystery Drones - let's solve it" with 56,000 online members.
U.S. President Joe Biden is receiving regular updates on the issue, a White House official said.
On Cape Cod in Massachusetts, residents and a police officer in Harwich reported seeing 10-15 drones flying in the Friday night sky, the Boston Herald reported.
Police relayed the information to the Boston FBI and Massachusetts State Police.
© 2024 Thomson/Reuters. All rights reserved.