New Jersey’s governor has demanded Joe Biden lead an investigation into mysterious and more frequent appearances of multiple large drones flying over his state, amid growing frustration that federal officials are downplaying the incidents.
Democrat Phil Murphy on Friday released a letter he wrote to the White House expressing his “growing concern” after Pentagon and FBI representatives ruled out involvement of the U.S. military or hostile foreign actors in numerous sightings of unexplained flying objects above about a dozen counties since mid-November.
“It has become clear that more resources are needed to fully understand what is behind this activity,” he wrote in the letter, which was published the same day reports emerged of multiple drones invading the airspace of Naval Weapons Station Earle breakthroughs in Monmouth County.
“I respectfully request that you continue to direct the concerned federal agencies to work together until they discover answers as to what is behind the UAS [unmanned aircraft systems] observations.”
Exasperation among politicians and law enforcement officials in New Jersey has increased following increasing reports of drone flights in recent weeks, including nearly 50 on Sunday evening alone, according to NJ.com, and the dismissal of them on Thursday by the White House that, at least, largely, “manned aircraft … operated legally.”
Some reports described car-sized drones flying, sometimes in groups, over sensitive military installations and critical infrastructure such as train stations, reservoirs and power plants. In response, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) imposed a no-fly zone on an Army facility in Morris County and President-elect Donald Trump’s golf resort in Bedminster.
At the Navy weapons station, ABC News reported, a spokesperson said no immediate threat had been identified, but personnel were working closely “with federal and state agencies to ensure the safety of our personnel and operations.”
The White House, the Pentagon and the FBI have all said they cannot fully explain the origins of the drones, but have indicated they believe they are nothing sinister.
“We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a threat to national security or public safety, or have any foreign nexus,” John Kirby, the Biden administration’s national security spokesman, told reporters on Thursday reporters during a press conference.
He said an unspecified number of still images and video footage of the incidents had been analyzed using “advanced electronic detection technologies” and had not been found to involve drones.
“On the contrary, upon review of the available images, it appears that many of the reported sightings are in fact manned aircraft being operated legally,” Kirby said.
“Importantly, there have been no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted airspace,” he added, appearing to contradict the narrative of the Navy weapons station breach.
Related: Unidentified drones spotted over the US air base in Germany, the report said
The sightings in New Jersey parallel incidents in Europe in recent weeks, which also involved unidentified aircraft and military facilities. A U.S. air base in Ramstein, Germany, was reportedly targeted; and last month several “small unmanned aerial systems” were spotted over three British RAF bases used by the US Air Force.
Kirby’s comments, which effectively ruled out foreign involvement in the New Jersey sightings, echoed those made by Sabrina Singh, the Pentagon’s deputy press secretary, a day earlier. “Our initial assessment here is that these are not drones or activities originating from any foreign entity or adversary,” she said.
The administration’s explanation, or lack thereof, has failed to impress politicians, including Murphy in New Jersey, who want more action to protect citizens. Republican Congressman Jeff Van Drew told the House Aviation Subcommittee on Wednesday that he believed the drones could be linked to Iran and warned of a possible national security threat.
Sightings have also extended well beyond New Jersey. Larry Hogan, the Republican former governor of Maryland, said in a tweet on Friday that he had “personally witnessed and captured video of what appeared to be dozens of large drones” over his home in Davidsonville on Thursday evening, adding that the incident lasted about 45 minutes lasted.
“Like many who have observed these drones, I am unsure whether this increased activity over our airspace poses a threat to public safety or national security. But the public is growing increasingly concerned and frustrated by the federal government’s complete lack of transparency and dismissive attitude,” he wrote.
“The government has the ability to track these from their origins but has responded negligently. People are rightly crying out for answers, but they are not getting them.”
Drone activity has also been spotted in some parts of New York. In a tweet posted around lunchtime on Friday, Kathy Hochul, the state’s Democratic governor, reiterated the administration’s position that there is “no evidence that these drones pose a threat to public safety or national security,” saying that state officials were working with partners including the FBI and Homeland Security Department “to protect New Yorkers.”
Republican politicians from New York, meanwhile, did not accept this. Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella condemned the federal response at a news conference Thursday afternoon.
“What if there were three thousand reports of drones or manned aircraft over the US capital, or the White House, or the statehouse in Albany? There would be an immediate and intense response to find out what they were and resolve the problem,” he said.
“Millions of people here are getting nothing but: ‘Don’t believe what you see.’ The post-September 11 saying that if you see something, say something has become, “If you see something, don’t worry about it.”
“The people of this city, state and region deserve answers to what the hell is going on.”
