FBI, DHS supporting New Jersey drone response with detection methods
The FBI and Department of Homeland Security disclosed Thursday that they are supporting New Jersey law enforcement with “numerous detection methods” as part of the response to recent mysterious aircraft sightings in the state’s skies.
Thus far, however, the federal agencies “have not corroborated any of the reported visual sightings with electronic detection,” according to a joint statement shared with FedScoop and DefenseScoop.
“To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully. There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted air space,” the FBI and DHS statement said.
The FBI declined to provide additional details on the capabilities of those technologies.
The agencies said they and federal partners are working closely with New Jersey State Police, and “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 statement didn’t provide additional details on what other federal agencies were involved, but U.S. Northern Command, a component of the Defense Department focused on homeland protection and defense, confirmed to DefenseScoop that it is monitoring the situation.
The sightings of what people have thought to be drones in recent weeks have sparked furor and lawmaker demands for answers. They also come amid a broader conversation about policy and transparency surrounding government response to unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAP.
New Jersey and New York lawmakers, including Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., and Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., wrote to leaders at DHS, the FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration earlier this week asking for a briefing on the response, citing public concerns.
Some residents, they wrote, have reported seeing drones larger than what is commercially available and others have been spotted near sensitive locations such as critical infrastructure and military installations.
In addition to privacy, the lawmakers said they were also concerned about public safety, citing reports that “a medevac helicopter was prevented from transporting a seriously injured patient for care because of the presence of these drones.” They specifically cited a story from Popular Science on that instance.
Lawmakers also probed an FBI official about the New Jersey sightings at a House Homeland Security joint subcommittee hearing earlier this week.
The FBI and DHS said they take the threat of unmanned aircraft systems seriously, saying that’s “why law enforcement and other agencies continue to support New Jersey and investigate the reports.”
While they emphasized that so far no malicious activity has been uncovered in the state, the agencies said “the reported sightings there do, however, highlight the insufficiency of current authorities.”
The FAA didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.
DefenseScoop reporter Brandi Vincent contributed to this story.
