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    • White House says many drones are piloted aircraft
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    White House says many drones are piloted aircraft

    Pabio Posted on

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    White House national security communications adviser John Kirby said Thursday that many of the drone sightings reported in New Jersey are actually legally operated manned aircraft and pose no threat to national security or the public, despite concerns raised by lawmakers.

    During a press briefing, Kirby said that neither the White House, nor state and local law enforcement, have been able to corroborate “any of the reported visual sightings” — despite the use of ” highly sophisticated electronic detection technologies.

    “While there is no known malicious activity, the reported sightings do, however, highlight a gap in authority,” Kirby said.

    The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) issued a joint statement following Kirby’s briefing stating: “It appears that many of the reported sightings actually involve manned aircraft, operating legally. There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in restricted airspace. .

    Spokespeople for Governor Murphy and the New Jersey State Police did not respond to requests for comment on Kirby’s remarks.

    An incredulous MP, Paul Kanitra, questioned Kirby’s statement.

    “This goes directly against what the federal Department of Homeland Security told us at Wednesday’s briefing,” said Kanitra, R-Ocean. “I can’t understand what their motivation is for trying to diminish this.”

    Kirby’s comments come a day after the state police briefing. New Jersey legislatorssaying authorities still don’t know where the mysterious drones come from, who operates them, or where they take off or land from.

    More: Mysterious drones are taking over the skies of New Jersey, but can you shoot them down?

    Lawmakers were also told that investigators have been unable to electronically detect the drones, which were first spotted over New Jersey on Nov. 18 and have been spotted every night since, with between four and 180 sightings each night.

    The large drones, which measure 2 meters in diameter, only fly at night, from dusk to 11 p.m., lawmakers said.

    New Jersey Rep. Greg Myhre, R-Ocean, was also skeptical of Kirby’s remarks.

    “He’s either not getting very good information or he’s not sharing what he knows,” Myhre said.

    He noted that during Wednesday’s briefing, State Police Commissioner Pat Callahan said he had a state police helicopter hovering over one of the six-foot airborne drones.

    Kanitra added that Callahan said as soon as the helicopter was on top of the craft, the drone turned off its lights, prompting the decision to disengage the helicopter because they determined it wasn’t sure.

    “Why would they call us all to an in-person meeting if it’s nothing,” Myhre said. “There is definitely more to do. Look, I hope it’s not a big deal, but the federal government needs to be more honest.

    Kanitra recounted all the details officials told lawmakers about what made the drones unique.

    For example, they noted that these drone flights were coordinated and flew in swarms, and remained airborne for 6 to 7 hours — which officials said was an “extraordinary” endurance, Kanitra said.

    Additionally, the federal government’s most sophisticated radar – the electro-optical infrared camera – could not detect the drones. Normally, it could detect any drone one or two miles away, and 10 miles for larger craft.

    “If it was ours or our government’s, we think we would know,” Kanitra recounted, one official said.

    During the briefing, federal Homeland Security officials also confirmed that unmanned vehicles flew over Naval Weapons Station Earle, the Picatinny Arsenal and the National Guard, Kanitra said.

    The mystery of unidentified drones has gripped the public. On Tuesday, federal officials admitted at a congressional hearing that despite repeated assurances from Murphy and other public officials, they could not say with certainty whether drones posed a threat.

    More than a dozen drones reportedly followed a 47-foot Coast Guard boat Sunday evening, while law enforcement tracked another 50 drones coming from the ocean toward land at Island State Park Beach, Rep. Chris Smith said.

    Kanitra said officials confirmed the Coast Guard’s story during Wednesday’s briefing that the drones were following and harassing the crew, citing that as another reason to doubt Kirby’s statement.

    “Do they think the Coast Guard is going to mistake 12 to 14 drones for planes? Are they trying to say that coastal people don’t know what planes look like? » asked Kanitra.

    Kirby reiterated Thursday that there are no known threats to national security or public safety from drones, and “most importantly, there are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in restricted airspace “.

    New Jersey has witnessed an alarming number of drones flying over the country since November 18. According to some reports, they fly over military installations, at least one tank and critical infrastructure. But local, state and federal officials have no answers as to their origins.

    Kirby added that the U.S. Coast Guard is providing support to the state of New Jersey and “confirmed that there is no evidence of any involvement of foreign-based coastal vessels.”

    This was in response to statements made Wednesday by Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-Ocean, who suggested: “These drones could be the work of foreign adversaries, particularly Iran… We also know that it there is a problem. Iranian drone mothership which is missing from the Iranian port, with a timeline corresponding to the emergence of these drones.

    At a press briefing Wednesday, Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh dismissed Van Drew’s remarks.

    “There is no truth to it,” Singh said. “There are no Iranian ships off the coast of the United States and there is no so-called mothership launching drones toward the United States.”

    Attempts to reach Van Drew on Thursday were unsuccessful.

    During his press conference, Singh confirmed: “These are not American military drones. … Our first assessment is that these are not drones or activities emanating from a foreign entity or adversary.”

    Singh said the decision whether to shoot down a drone, as state and federal officials have requested, was up to state and local officials.

    “That’s a decision that’s up to local law enforcement,” Singh said. “If a drone or, you know, any activity poses a threat to military installations, they always have the right to defend themselves.”

    So far, drones do not pose a threat to military bases, she said. “So they didn’t feel the need to engage,” Singh said.

    When asked to clarify the military’s role, a spokesperson for the U.S. Northern Command said it “conducted a deliberate analysis of events, in consultation with other military organizations and interagency partners,” but that he had not been asked to assist with drone observations.

    Should additional assistance be needed, U.S. Northern Command “will continue to evaluate additional information and is prepared to respond when requested or if the situation escalates and threatens (Department of Defense) installations.” , said the spokesperson.

    Pabio
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