The mystery remains. Since mid-November, residents in the New York and New Jersey area have been reporting drone flights in the skies. Some move while others appear to float in place. This phenomenon fuels concern, especially since local and national authorities have not provided an answer to its origin. These unidentified drones once again disrupted the skies over the northeastern United States this weekend, prompting federal authorities to reaffirm that no criminal activity or foreign country activity had been established.
Videos of luminous devices flying in the sky have now invaded social networks for several weeks. “It’s going too far,” lamented Kathy Hochul, the Democratic governor of New York State, the fourth most populous in the United States (20 million inhabitants). She pointed out in a press release published on Saturday that the runways of a small airport in the region had to close the previous evening for an hour because of the appearance of “new drones”. Contacted by AFP, the New York airport authority confirmed this brief closure, which had no consequences on flights.
“Otherwise, shoot them!”
On Friday, the President-elect of the United States Donald Trump in turn invited himself into the controversy. “Mysterious drone sightings across the country. Can this really be happening without our government knowing? I don’t think so! The public needs to know, and right away. If not, shoot them down !”, he wrote in a message published on his Truth Social network. While criticizing national authorities for their lack of response, the sheriff of Monmouth County, New Jersey, for his part called on the population not to shoot at drones.
The four senators from the states of New Jersey and New York signed a joint letter to the attention of the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the aeronautical authority, insisting on the fact that these drones “sighted the night, worrying both residents and local law enforcement.” “Some (drones) have been seen maneuvering near critical and sensitive locations, including reservoirs and military installations,” specify the four senators.
The (false) Iranian trail
Local elected officials criticize the Biden administration for its supposed inaction. The Republican representative of New Jersey in the House of Congress, Chris Smith, declared in a press release on Friday that the attitude of the White House towards these observations had been “dismissive”. “The Biden administration has an obligation to the American people to understand and tell us immediately what is happening,” added Chris Smith, as reported The New York Times.
Chris Smith and other elected officials have raised the threat of a foreign state like Russia or China, without any evidence to support it. Representatives of the Federal Police (FBI), Homeland Security and the FAA (American aviation regulator) reiterated that no element, at this stage of their investigations, shows criminal activity or emanating from a foreign power. A Pentagon spokeswoman had already brushed aside assertions by Republican MP Jeff Van Drew on Fox News, according to which Tehran was behind the drone flight: “There is no Iranian ship off the American coast, and there is no “There is no so-called mothership that launches drones towards the United States.”
A representative of the FAA recalled that it was “not illegal to fly drones in American airspace”, while that of the FBI estimated their number in the United States at “nearly a million registered , so there is no doubt that drones are flying over the state of New Jersey. National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said from the White House on Thursday that “many of the reported sightings are in fact manned aircraft operating legally.” He said there “is no evidence that the reported drones pose a threat to national security or public safety, or that there is a foreign nexus.”