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Numerous aerial sightings after sunset have sparked concern on the US east coast and widespread anger that the federal government is not taking the issue seriously.
Authorities in New Jersey since last month have been flooded with reports of airplanes covering the sky at night, sometimes in groups for no apparent purpose, above the most populated state in the country.
The authorities tried to calm the public but did not give any explanation for the incident.
“We have no evidence at this time that the sightings reported by the aircraft pose a threat to national security or public safety or have a foreign connection,” the FBI and US Homeland Security said. said this week.
The promises do little to ease fears over the flying machines, whose owners and home remain a mystery.
“It’s disturbing, really, that our officials expect us to believe that they don’t know what’s going on. We can shoot missiles down 5,000 miles, but we don’t know where these drones are coming from? said James Dodd, mayor of Dover, New Jersey.
Dover is down the road from the Picatinny Arsenal, a US military base. The Federal Aviation Administration imposed temporary flight restrictions on non-operating aircraft in the area last month, citing “special security reasons”. Similar restrictions were announced this month for the area around President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.
No such bans have been imposed anywhere in the country, as drone sightings have been intruding.
Dodd was one of the New Jersey mayors invited to a conversation held by the New Jersey state police this week. He said he left confused by what he considered to be little information on a serious matter.
He posted on his city’s website a question-and-answer document he received from the Department of Homeland Security. “At this time, it is unclear who is using the drones,” the document said.
Drone reports are spreading up and down the east coast. Larry Hogan, the former governor of Maryland, wrote on social media that he saw “what appeared to be multiple drones in the sky” above his home for about 45 minutes on Thursday at night.
Like many who have seen these drones, I don’t know if this increased activity in our skies is a threat to public safety or national security. But the public is growing concerned and frustrated by the lack of transparency and the condescending attitude of the federal government,” Hogan wrote. He posted a video of what he said was an airplane.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on Friday that the state is investigating drone sightings in her state, in cooperation with state authorities.
State laws place few limits on civilian drone use, said Mary-Lou Smulders, chief marketing officer of Dedrone, a company that helps public safety agencies detect drones. The offense includes flying too close to airports and sensitive areas such as nuclear power plants and over 400ft in altitude.
However, those rules are often ignored. Dedrone sensors have recorded more than 1.1 million violations so far this year.
State and local police do not have the authority to stop drones, Smulders said. That power is only given to four government departments under certain conditions, making it difficult to crack down on those who break the law.
State officials say they have not discovered any wrongdoing involving the New Jersey airlines. “Maybe some people think it’s funny that they can do this weird thing,” Smulders speculated. “What . . . is the purpose of flying around at night? Not much.”
The FBI doubted that most of the observations were drones at all. “To the contrary, upon review of the available footage, it appears that most of the footage is of manned, lawfully operated aircraft,” said a statement from the Department of Homeland Security.
New Jersey, located between New York City and Philadelphia, has the busiest atmosphere in North America.
Unresolved concerns led to urgent calls for action. This week Republican Congressman of New Jersey Jeff Van Drew suggested that the planes take off from the “Iranian drone mothership” in the Atlantic Ocean.
Trump tried on Friday, to put on his social media platform that the government should come over or shoot the plane down.
US officials have said they are not investigating whether the drone operation is linked to foreign actors or adversaries. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh on Wednesday said no Iranian ship had launched drones to the US.
Additional reporting by Felicia Schwartz in Washington
