Drone confusion has turned to hysteria after one of the devices fell out of the sky, and now Gov. Phil Murphy is demanding action, calling on the federal government to use its power and resources to figure out where the mysterious drones are coming from. The number of reports keeps growing, with at least one spotted every since Nov. 18 except Thanksgiving. NBC New York’s Adam Harding reports.
New Jersey's governor says he has written a letter to President Joe Biden requesting more federal resources to assist in the investigation into multiple reports of drones flying over his state in recent weeks.
Since existing laws limit the ability of state and local law enforcement to address unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), Gov. Phil Murphy requested the president deploy additional means of answering the unresolved questions.
"New Jersey residents deserve more concrete information about these UAS sightings and what is causing them," the Democrat's letter read, in part. "The continued reporting of UAS activity has raised more questions than answers and prompted an outcropping of conspiracy theories on social media and other online platforms."
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Murphy has said his state is working with the FBI and other federal partners to determine the source of the UAS. He also wrote a separate letter to congressional leaders asking that they pass legislation to shore up state and local rights to address UAS activity. It wasn't immediately clear if he got a response to the letter, which is dated Thursday.
I wrote to @POTUS to express my concerns about reports of unmanned aircraft systems in and around NJ airspace.
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) December 13, 2024
Since existing laws limit the ability of state and local law enforcement to counter UAS, more federal resources are needed to understand what is behind this activity. pic.twitter.com/mkeUeW7ury
There were nearly 80 reports of drones in the state Thursday into Friday, according to an official with knowledge of the case. Drone sightings have been reported nightly since before Thanksgiving from North Jersey to South Jersey. There were zero reports on Thanksgiving.
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One of the drone sightings turned into more of an encounter in Morris County, where Christine Keaveney said she saw a downed drone late Thursday in her neighbor's yard. Police flooded the area, but confirmed on Friday it wasn't anything nefarious, just a toy that had crashed.
But also in Morris County, an NBC New York camera captured one of several flying objects with red and green flashing lights (video above). While it could not be confirmed to be a drone, those in the area said it was not in the typical flight path for airplanes.
Just days being sworn into office, incoming Sen. Andy Kim went out with police in Hunterdon County, posting video to social media and saying some of the aircraft he saw were moving in ways traditional airplanes simply cannot.
Concern has reached a fever pitch in New Jersey, as mayors are urging the public to be responsible and not try anything dangerous to catch a glimpse of what's going on in the sky.
"We want answers, we want to figure out what this is — but now we’re getting to the point where this is just hysteria," said Pequannock Township Mayor Ryan Herd.
Rallying cries for action have built steadily in recent weeks as more reports of the drones emerged. This week, a U.S. senator called for mysterious drones spotted flying at night over sensitive areas in New Jersey and other parts of the Mid-Atlantic region to be “shot down, if necessary,” even as it remains unclear who owns the unmanned aircraft.
“We should be doing some very urgent intelligence analysis and take them out of the skies, especially if they’re flying over airports or military bases,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said Thursday.
People in the New York region are also concerned that the drones may be sharing airspace with commercial airlines, he said, demanding more transparency from the Biden administration.
The White House said Thursday that a review of the reported sightings shows that many of them are actually manned aircraft being flown lawfully. White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said there were no reported sightings in any restricted airspace. He said the U.S. Coast Guard has not uncovered any foreign involvement from coastal vessels.
“We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus,” Kirby said, echoing statements from the Pentagon.
Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh has said they are not U.S. military drones.
In a joint statement issued Thursday afternoon, the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security said they and their federal partners, in close coordination with the New Jersey State Police, “continue to deploy personnel and technology to investigate this situation and confirm whether the reported drone flights are actually drones or are instead manned aircraft or otherwise inaccurate sightings.”
The drones appear to avoid detection by traditional methods such as helicopter and radio, according to a state lawmaker briefed Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security.
The number of sightings has increased in recent days, though officials say many of the objects seen may have been planes rather than drones. It’s also possible that a single drone has been reported more than once.
The worry stems partly from the flying objects initially being spotted near the Picatinny Arsenal, a U.S. military research and manufacturing facility, and over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster.
Drones are legal in New Jersey for recreational and commercial use but are subject to local and Federal Aviation Administration regulations and flight restrictions. Operators must be FAA certified.
Most, but not all, of the drones spotted in New Jersey appeared to be larger than those typically used by hobbyists.
