Concern is growing over mysterious drone sightings along the US East Coast

Multiple sightings of the aerial objects after sunset sparked concern along the East Coast of the United States and widespread anger at the federal government’s response.

Since last month, authorities in New Jersey have received reports of flooding Drones They spread across the night sky, sometimes in clusters and for no apparent purpose, over the nation’s most densely populated state.

Sightings have also been reported in Maryland and Virginia, which includes the Washington suburbs.

Officials from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration, White House and Pentagon said Saturday in a joint news conference that there is no evidence of widespread or malicious drone activity. They dismissed many of the sightings as manned aircraft such as airplanes.

“We have no current evidence of a threat to public safety,” a Department of Homeland Security official said.

The FBI said it received about 5,000 tips, but that led to fewer than 100 pieces of information worthy of further investigation.

“The density of reported sightings matches approach patterns at very busy airports (in the area)” — LaGuardia and JFK airports in New York, and Newark Liberty International Airport, an FBI official said.

While the FBI said it was working with local authorities, state officials were not entirely satisfied with the federal government’s response.

“I remain deeply concerned that Virginia has consistently sought information from federal partners and, to date, the information shared with the commonwealth has been inadequate,” Virginia Governor Glenn Youngkin said.

Earlier, James Dodd, Mayor of Dover, New Jersey, described the official response as “troubling.”

“We can shoot down a missile 5,000 miles away, but we can’t determine where these drones are coming from?” He said.

Dover is located just down the road from Picatinny Arsenal, a US military installation. The Federal Aviation Administration imposed temporary restrictions on drone flights over the site last month, citing “special security reasons.” Similar restrictions were announced this month for the area around President-elect Donald Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.

No such restrictions have been imposed anywhere else in the state, even with the influx of drone sightings.

Dodd was among the New Jersey mayors invited to attend a news conference hosted by the New Jersey State Police this week. He said he left frustrated by what he saw as little information about a serious case.

He posted on his city’s website a question-and-answer document he received from the Department of Homeland Security. “At the moment, it is not clear who is operating the drones,” he added. document He said.

Reports of drones spread up and down the East Coast. Larry Hogan, the former governor of Maryland, wrote on social media that he saw “what appeared to be dozens of large drones in the sky” over his home for about 45 minutes on Thursday evening.

“Like many who have seen these drones, I do not know whether this increased activity over our skies represents a threat to public safety or national security,” Hogan wrote. “But the public is increasingly concerned and frustrated by the complete lack of transparency and dismissive stance of the federal government,” Hogan wrote. He posted a video of what he said were planes.

New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on Friday that the state was investigating drone sightings in her state, in cooperation with federal authorities.

Federal regulations place few restrictions on the use of civilian drones, said Mary Lou Smulders, marketing director for Dedrone, a company that helps public safety agencies detect drones. Violations include flying near airports and sensitive sites such as nuclear power plants and at an altitude exceeding 400 feet.

Even then, rules are commonly violated. Dedrone sensors have recorded more than 1.1 million violations so far this year.

State and local police are not authorized to intercept drones, Smulders said. These powers are only granted to four federal departments under certain circumstances, making it difficult to take strict action against violators.

Located between New York City and Philadelphia, New Jersey has some of the busiest airspace in North America.

New Jersey Republican Congressman Jeff Van Drew suggested this week that the flights had taken off from an “unmanned Iranian mother ship” in the Atlantic Ocean.

Trump commented on Friday, send on his social media platform that the government should be more prepared or the plane will be shot down.

US officials said they did not assess the drone activity to be linked to any foreign actors or adversaries. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said on Wednesday that no Iranian ship had launched drones towards the United States.

Additional reporting by Felicia Schwartz in Washington