BOSTON – More suspected drone sightings in the eastern U.S. have led to a temporary airspace closure at an Ohio Air Force base and arrests near Boston’s Logan International Airport, as elected officials step up their push for action to identify the mysterious unmanned flights and to stop.
Drones flying around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, forced base officials to close the airspace for about four hours from late Friday through early Saturday, said Robert Purtiman, a base spokesman.
It is the first time drones have been spotted at the base, one of the largest in the world, and no sightings have been reported since early Saturday, Purtiman said on Monday. He would not say how many drones are flying in the area. He adds that they vary in size and have not affected any basic facilities.
Criminal investigation launched after US Air Force spotted drones flying over British bases
In Boston, city police arrested two men accused of flying a drone “dangerously close” to Logan Airport on Saturday evening. Authorities said an officer using drone monitoring technology detected the aircraft and the location of its operators. A third man who fled police is still on the run. Authorities said the two men are charged with trespassing and that additional charges and fines could follow.
Boston police urged drone operators to adhere to federal safety guidelines.
“Even small drones pose significant risks, including the potential for catastrophic damage to aircraft and helicopters. Near misses can cause pilots to veer off course, endangering lives and property,” police said in social media posts.
National security officials have said the drones recently spotted in the eastern part of the country do not appear to be signs of foreign interference or a threat to public safety. But unable to say for certain who is responsible for the sudden swarms of drones – or how to stop them – leaders from both political parties are demanding better technology and powers to deal with the drones.
“There are a lot of us who are quite frustrated right now,” Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut, the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on “Fox News Sunday” as drone sightings were reported in his state. “’We don’t know’ is not a good enough answer.”
Democratic Senator Chuck Schumer on Sunday called on the US Department of Homeland Security to deploy better drone tracking technology in New York and New Jersey to identify the drones and their operators. New York Governor Kathy Hochul said federal officials had agreed to send a drone detection system to the state.
“New Yorkers have huge questions about it,” Schumer, the Senate Majority Leader, told reporters about the drone sightings. “We are going to find the answers for them.”
The federal government did little to answer these questions in its own media briefings last weekend. “There’s no question that people are seeing drones,” U.S. Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos on Sunday. “But I want to assure the American public that we are working on it. We work closely with national and local authorities.”
Some of the drones reported above in parts of New York and New Jersey appear to be “manned aircraft that are often mistaken for drones,” Mayorkas said. “We know there is no foreign involvement in the sightings in the northeast. And we are vigilant as we investigate this matter.”
New Jersey’s Democratic Governor Phil Murphy posted on X on Sunday evening that he was searching for drones with state police in West Trenton, New Jersey. “The public deserves clear answers – we will continue to press the federal government for more information and resources,” he said, adding that the FBI had informed him of the sightings in Colts Neck, New Jersey.
Federal aviation authorities have been requiring certain drones to remotely broadcast their identification, including the location of their operators, since last year. It is not clear whether that information was used to determine who is behind the drones plaguing locations over New York and New Jersey. Mayorkas’ office did not respond to questions about whether they were able to identify drones using this capability.
Dozens of mysterious nighttime flights launched over parts of New Jersey last month, raising concerns among residents and officials. Part of the concern stems from the fact that the flying objects were initially spotted near the Picatinny Arsenal, a US military research and production facility, and over newly elected President Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster.
“At first it didn’t matter to me,” said Trisha Bushey of Clinton Township, New Jersey, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of the Picatinny Arsenal. “I just didn’t think anything of it until it started being like every night, same time, same places.”
Bushey said she at first thought they were military exercises, but officials later said the military was not involved.
“And once they came out and said they’re not and they don’t know what they are and they’re not foreign, but they’re not ours and they’re not a threat, then it becomes concerning. ,” she told the Associated Press.
Drones are now being reported throughout the Northeastern US
Some US political leaders, including Trump, have called for much stronger action against the drones, including shooting them down.
Certain agencies within the Department of Homeland Security have the power to “disable” drones, Mayorkas said Sunday. “But we need those authorities expanded,” he said.
Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut. Associated Press writers John Seewer in Toledo, Ohio, Mike Catalini in Trenton, New Jersey, and Joseph B. Frederick in New York City contributed to this report.
