Concern grows over mysterious drone sightings along US east coast

Multiple sightings of aerial objects after sundown have sparked concern along the US east coast and widespread anger at the federal government’s response. 

Authorities in New Jersey have since last month been flooded with reports of drones dotting the night sky, sometimes in groups and without any apparent purpose, above the most densely populated state in the country. 

There have also been reported sightings in Maryland and Virginia, which include suburbs of Washington.

On Saturday, officials from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration, White House and Pentagon said in a joint briefing that there was no evidence of large-scale or malicious drone activity. They dismissed many of the sightings as manned aircraft such as aeroplanes.

“We don’t have any current evidence that there’s a threat to public safety” said a DHS official.

The FBI said it had received about 5,000 tips but that these had generated fewer than 100 leads worth further investigation.

“The density of reported sightings matches the approach patterns for [the region’s] very busy airports” — New York’s LaGuardia and JFK airports, and Newark Liberty International Airport, an FBI official said.

While the FBI said it was working with local authorities, state officials have not been entirely satisfied with the federal government’s response.

“I remain deeply concerned that Virginia has consistently sought information from federal partners, and to date, the information shared with the Commonwealth has been insufficient,” said Virginia governor Glenn Youngkin.

James Dodd, mayor of the town of Dover, New Jersey, earlier described the official response as “disturbing.”

“We could shoot a missile down 5,000 miles away, but we can’t determine where these drones are originating from?” he said.

Dover is down the road from Picatinny Arsenal, a US military installation. The Federal Aviation Administration imposed temporary flight restrictions on unmanned flights over the site last month, citing “special security reasons”. Similar restrictions were declared this month for the area around President-elect Donald Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey. 

No such restrictions have been imposed elsewhere in the state, even as drone sightings pour in. 

Dodd was among the New Jersey mayors invited to a briefing hosted by New Jersey state police this week. He said he left frustrated by what he considered to be scant information on a serious issue. 

He posted on his town’s website a question-and-answer document he received from DHS. “At this time, it is unclear who is operating the drones,” the document said. 

Drone reports have been spreading up and down the eastern seaboard. Larry Hogan, the former governor of Maryland, wrote on social media that he had witnessed “what appeared to be dozens of large drones in the sky” above his home for about 45 minutes on Thursday night.

“Like many who have observed these drones, I do not know if this increasing activity over our skies is a threat to public safety or national security. But the public is growing increasingly concerned and frustrated with the complete lack of transparency and the dismissive attitude of the federal government,” Hogan wrote. He posted video of what he said were the aircraft. 

New York governor Kathy Hochul said on Friday that the state was investigating drone sightings in her state, in co-operation with federal authorities. 

Federal regulations place few limits on civilian drone use, said Mary-Lou Smulders, chief marketing officer of Dedrone, a company which helps public safety agencies detect drones. Violations include flying too close to airports and sensitive sites such as nuclear power plants and surpassing 400ft in altitude. 

Even then, the rules are commonly flouted. Dedrone’s sensors have recorded more than 1.1mn violations so far this year. 

State and local police are not authorised to intercept drones, Smulders said. Those powers are only granted to four federal departments under certain circumstances, making it difficult to crack down on violators. 

New Jersey, sandwiched between New York City and Philadelphia, contains some of the busiest airspace in North America. 

This week Republican New Jersey congressman Jeff Van Drew suggested the flights were taking off from an “Iranian drone mother ship” in the Atlantic. 

Trump weighed in on Friday, posting on his social media platform that the government should be more forthcoming or shoot the aircraft down. 

US officials have said they do not assess that the drone activity is connected to any foreign actors or adversaries. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh on Wednesday said no Iranian ship was launching drones towards the US. 

Additional reporting by Felicia Schwartz in Washington