U.S. nationwide safety officers sought to dispel issues in regards to the mysterious drones flying over the Northeast in a current name with reporters, one going so far as describing nationwide uneasiness as “a slight overreaction.”
The decision, attended by Fox Information Digital Saturday, was hosted by senior Biden administration officers, together with representatives from the FBI, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), the Nationwide Safety Council (NSC), the Division of Homeland Safety (DHS) and the Division of Protection (DOD).
The senior officers remained tight-lipped in regards to the origins of the drones, that are nonetheless being investigated. The mysterious plane have been first noticed flying above northern New Jersey in mid-November and have been repeatedly seen by hundreds of residents over the previous few weeks.
Throughout the name with reporters, an FBI official stated his company has acquired 5,000 ideas because the first mysterious drone was seen flying above the Backyard State in November. Of these 5,000 ideas, fewer than 100 warranted additional investigation, the official stated.
On this picture taken from video offered by MartyA45_, a number of drones seem like flying over Randolph, N.J., Dec. 4. (MartyA45_ /TMX through AP, File)
The FBI official added that investigators have discovered no proof of large-scale unmanned drone exercise regardless of the current uptick in drone exercise in current weeks.
“We’re doing our best to find the origin of that specific … those drone activities,” the official stated. “But I think there has been a slight overreaction.”
Echoing feedback from the FBI consultant, a DHS official famous that, whereas his company shouldn’t be dismissing all ideas in regards to the drones as non-credible, “the amount of actual drone activity is likely less than what’s being reported.”
A DOD official added that the company has gathered “no intelligence or observations that would indicate that [the drones] were aligned with a foreign actor or that they had malicious intent.”
“But, you know, just to simply tell you, we don’t know,” the consultant stated. “We have not been able to locate or identify the operators or the points of origin.”
New Jersey State Assemblyman Paul Kanitra took a photograph of what seems to be a number of drones hovering within the New Jersey sky. (Paul Kanitra/Fox Information @ Night time)
The Pentagon official added that there are limitations by way of investigating the drones’ sources.
“We’re also significantly restricted, and rightfully so, in fact, prohibited from intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance here in the homeland,” the spokesperson famous. “So, we don’t have the same capabilities and the same methods that we would employ in other locations outside of the homeland to determine points of origin.”
“Here, on the military side, we are just as frustrated with, you know, with the irresponsible nature of this activity,” the official conceded.
An NSC official echoed the DOD consultant’s sentiment, arguing there isn’t a proof overseas adversaries are concerned with the drones, and there’s no proof of any risk to public security.
Map exhibiting a few of the areas the place thriller drones have been noticed in December 2024. (Fox Information)
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“Obviously, we are taking this incredibly seriously at this point,” the NSC official stated. “We have not identified any basis for believing that …. there’s any criminal activity involved, that there’s any national security threat, that there’s any particular public safety threat or that there’s a malicious foreign actor involved in these drones.”
Fox Information’ Daniel Scully contributed to this report.
