Officials demand explanation on mysterious drones as more sightings reported in New York metro area

By Andy Rose, Artemis Moshtaghian, Polo Sandoval, Josh Campbell and Pete Muntean, CNN

Federal agencies are facing intense pressure to give the public more details on unexplained drone sightings in the New York City metropolitan area, which have been going on for weeks over residential neighbourhoods as well as restricted sites and critical infrastructure.

"The bottom line is this: They're not providing enough information to the public, and the public is concerned," US Representative Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat and member of the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN's Kate Bolduan on Friday.

"Believe me, I'm hearing from my constituents about this all the time, and I think it's time for them to immediately get out there and brief."

On Friday, Pennsylvania became the latest state to report unauthorised drone sightings, joining New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

New York Republican, Representative Nicole Malliotakis, called the situation "outrageous," saying there are "drones and unmanned aerial systems flying above us and our government is not telling us who's operating them and for what purpose?"

Malliotakis joined Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella in demanding answers.

Fossella said the drones, often seen flying at night, have been spotted hovering over critical infrastructures including Port Liberty New York near the Goethals Bridge, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and Fort Wadsworth, one of the oldest military installations in the country.

Representatives of the federal agencies investigating the drones - who have briefed local officials behind closed doors - said the drones sometimes appear to fly in a coordinated pattern and can sometimes be in flight for up to six hours, according to Montvale, New Jersey, Mayor Mike Ghassali.

And though federal officials have said there is no evidence the drone sightings pose a public safety threat, the mayor of Belleville, New Jersey has said he has received guidance police should call the county bomb squad if they encounter a downed drone.

In addition, local fire departments should wear hazmat suits when they respond, Mayor Michael Melham said, saying the information was shared by his Office of Emergency Management following recent state-level meetings.

"We just don't know what these things are, so we are being cautious," Melham said.

President-elect Donald Trump, meanwhile, has called on the Biden administration to either release any information it has about the mysterious sightings or shoot the drones out of the sky.

"Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our government's knowledge. I don't think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!! DJT," Trump posted on Truth Social.

Officials are currently prioritising the use of sophisticated radio frequency technology that can geolocate the operator of a drone, a source familiar with the investigation told CNN.

There are multiple technical capabilities authorities can use to try to "defeat" a drone, including jamming a signal, disconnecting it from the operator or remotely "hijack" a drone, but every option can pose numerous risks, the source said.

"Blowing it out of the sky is the last resort," the source said, noting the option is always on the table if an aircraft presents a threat.

Federal and state officials said using offensive techniques to bring down the drones poses an unnecessary risk to people on the ground and legal challenges, especially as they have not been deemed threatening, the source said.

New Jersey's Democratic Governor Phil Murphy has formally requested additional resources from the Biden administration to better address the ongoing situation.

"While I am sincerely grateful for your administration's leadership in addressing this concerning issue, it has become apparent that more resources are needed to fully understand what is behind this activity," Murphy said in a letter dated Thursday.

CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

Murphy's concerns come as Naval Weapons Station Earle, a US Navy base south of Middletown, New Jersey, acknowledged Friday it had spotted "several instances of unidentified drones entering the airspace" above the facility, despite no direct threats being identified.

"The base remains prepared to respond to any potential risks, leveraging robust security measures and advanced detection capabilities," station spokesperson Bill Addison said in an email to CNN, adding there are airspace restrictions above the station.

Democratic Senator Andy Kim of New Jersey posted videos to his X account showing what appeared to be a cluster of drones over the Round Valley Reservoir, Thursday night.

"This has gone on for weeks," Kim wrote. "It's hard to understand how with the technology we have we aren't able to track these devices to determine origin and this makes me much more concerned about our capabilities more broadly when it comes to drone detection and counter measures."

Morris County, about 30 miles west of New York City, issued a statement calling for "the federal government to marshal all federal resources at its disposal, including the military, to end the unauthorized flight of drones over our county and other parts of New Jersey."

"Morris County and our communities have deployed considerable resources daily since the first drones were spotted," the statement continued.

The Somerset County Sheriff's Office similarly said in a Facebook post they had "increased vigilance" at sensitive locations and "are analysing data and information on a daily basis."

New Yorkers are also frustrated.

"We know New Yorkers have spotted drones in the air this week & we are investigating," New York Governor Kathy Hochul said on X, on Friday.

New York State Police said Friday afternoon in a post on X they had received "numerous reports of drone sightings over the past 24 hours" and they were investigating the reports. "We have no evidence at this time that any of the reported sightings pose a public safety threat," reads the post.

Connecticut State Police announced Friday they have deployed a drone detection system to assist in investigative efforts into unauthorised drone sightings reported over Fairfield County.

"It's very unsettling to public safety and security, both here in Fairfield and elsewhere," Republican state Senator Tony Hwang said in a statement Friday.

"What we have is a lack of information at all levels of government. It's really a breakdown of communication. Without that vital communication, you lose the public's confidence, you get speculation and you get fear," he said.

And in Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro said his administration is "aware of" the reported drone sightings and is taking them seriously. The governor said Friday evening he directed the Pennsylvania State Police to look further into the sightings, and police will be flying helicopters to try to "determine where these drones are originating from and what the purpose of these drones are."

Federal officials have sought to calm the concerns about the drone sightings, but without giving further details about what they might be.

"We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus," White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said in a press briefing Thursday.

Kirby added many of "the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully."

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas echoed Kirby's explanation Friday, telling CNN's Wolf Blitzer that some reported drone sightings were cases of "mistaken identity."

Addressing calls to shoot down unidentified drones, he said, "It's not as though anyone can just take down a drone in the sky. That in and of itself would be dangerous."

Mayorkas added he has been in communication with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy daily.

Congress briefed on drone sightings

Officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI briefed top committees in the House and Senate as well as a delegation of New Jersey lawmakers on the reported drone sightings, a source familiar with the situation tells CNN. The source said while there have been eyewitness reports of what appear to be drones over New Jersey, agency officials stressed in meetings Thursday that many videos on social media appear to be civilian aeroplanes or helicopters.

"I don't believe with all of these sightings, none of them are drones," Gottheimer said, adding, "You can't have the Wild West of drones out there," with unmanned aircraft threatening infrastructure.

The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness said there was "an active federal investigation" into the drone sightings, but elected officials want to hear more.

"We should be doing smart intelligence analysis and take them out of the skies, especially if they're flying over airports or military bases," US Senator Richard Blumenthal, who sits on the Senate's Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said Thursday. "They should be shot down, if necessary, because they're flying over sensitive areas."

Residents in New York's Rockland County reported drone sightings starting as early as November.

County Executive Ed Day sent a letter to President Joe Biden Friday, seeking answers and urging his administration, along with the FAA and FBI, to investigate and provide clarity on the matter.

"The fact that this issue has persisted for weeks without clear answers is completely unacceptable - not just to the people of Rockland County, but to communities across the nation," Day said in the letter. "It's time for the Federal government to step up, take responsibility, and provide the answers we all deserve."

New York Republican, Representative Nicole Malliotakis said the situation "is creating havoc, people are confused, they're concerned, they have anxiety, they don't know what's going on."

No foreign involvement suspected by feds

The US intelligence community and federal law enforcement do not suspect foreign involvement in the drone sightings across New Jersey, security officials told members of Congress on Thursday, at one private briefing.

Key lawmakers assigned to congressional national security committees were told investigators do not currently believe the sightings involved an overseas connection, the use of foreign drones, nor an operator on the ground connected to a foreign government, according to a source familiar with the briefing conducted by representatives from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Federal Aviation Administration.

Officials said sighted drones have been observed with FAA-required anticollision lights and are not believed to have entered any restricted airspaces, according to the source.

While authorities have not yet identified the origin of the mysterious drone flights, the source said an active FBI investigation remains underway to identify the person or persons operating them, and to determine whether any criminal violations of law have occurred.

Some of the more recent drone operations may be from copycats trying to play on people's worries as the sightings get more news coverage, former FBI supervisory special agent Tom Adams told CNN. He said there are often innocent explanations, as well.

"I can tell you from my firsthand experience conducting operations for the FBI, as well as investigations into the suspected sighting of drones at critical infrastructure, it was fairly common for planets, crewed aircraft and even low Earth orbit satellites to be misidentified as drones at night," Adams said.

Drones - unmanned aerial vehicles - are widely owned across the US. A total of 791,597 drones are registered with the FAA, split almost evenly between commercial drones and recreational drones.

Although the drones often display flashing lights, they frequently turn off the lights and evade police helicopters when approached, Mayor Michael Melham of Belleville Township said in a Facebook video update on Wednesday.

The FAA issued temporary flight restrictions over the Picatinny Arsenal, a US military research facility, and over President-elect Donald Trump's golf course in Bedminster after drones were spotted in those areas, one week after the FAA received its first report of an unauthorised drone operation in the New York metro area on 18 November.

"Until you know the origin and what these drones' intent is, how can you tell me there's no imminent threat?" Mayor Tony Perry of Middletown, New Jersey, told CNN Thursday.

Feds rarely coordinate drone info with locals

The sense that local officials are being left in the dark is partially a result of outdated laws keeping regulation of the skies entirely in federal hands, according to the chief executive of a company tracking unauthorised drone flights.

"The laws that regulate aircraft are not built to empower police to deal with the drones," Axon chief executive Rick Smith told CNN News Central on Friday: "so if your local state fair has a drone coming towards it that police believe might be dangerous, right now there's nothing they can do about it."

FAA regulations allow operators of recreational drones to fly up to 400 feet above the ground in airspace not controlled by FAA air traffic controllers. The FAA does grant waivers on a case-by-case basis to those wanting to operate drones in more congested airspace or at higher altitudes.

Giving local law enforcement more authority over drones is under consideration, Smith said, because traditional aircraft tracking technology is ineffective for vehicles hovering only a few hundred feet off the ground.

"The same radar and tracking system you use for a 747 just doesn't work," said Smith.

- CNN