What to know about mysterious drones buzzing the U.S. East Coast

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In recent weeks there have been numerous reports of mysterious drones flying over parts of New Jersey and the U.S. East Coast. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, the White House, U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and the FBI have all weighed in on the matter, although there remain more questions than answers. Here’s what we know.

When did the sightings start?

Reports of drone sightings over New Jersey started in mid-November. The first sightings were in Morris County in the north of the state, and along the Raritan River, about 80 kilometres west of New York City.

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Since then, sightings have expanded to state-wide, including near the Picatinny Arsenal, a military research and manufacturing facility, and over Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster. The aircraft have also recently been spotted in coastal areas.

What is the FBI saying?

In a call with reporters Saturday that was organized by the White House, senior officials from the FBI, Pentagon, FAA and other agencies sought to assure people that the drones are not a national security or public safety threat or the work of a malicious foreign actor.

An FBI official, who spoke on condition of anonymity under ground rules set by the White House, said the public concern is understandable but added: “I think there has been a slight overreaction.”

What is Donald Trump saying?

On Monday, Trump said, without citing evidence, that the U.S. military knew where drones took off from.

“For some reason they don’t want to comment,” he told reporters at his Mar-a-Lago resort in Florida. “And I think they’d be better off saying what it is if our military knows and our president knows. And for some reason they want to keep people in suspense.”

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What are the military options to deal with the drones?

A New Jersey congressman has urged the Pentagon to authorize the use of force to bring down one or more drones to try to figure out who deployed them.

The objects could be downed over the ocean or in an unpopulated area on land, Republican representative Chris Smith said Saturday at a news conference. “Why can’t we bag at least one of these drones and get to the bottom of it?”

Trump also called on the government to act. “Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!” he posted on his social media site.

However, Monmouth County Sheriff Shaun Golden said people should not take it into their own hands to shoot down drones, which would break state and federal laws.

What other options exist?

Last year, U.S. federal aviation rules began requiring certain drones to broadcast their remote identification, including the location of their operators. But it’s not clear whether that information has been used to determine who is behind these drones.

The office of U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas didn’t respond to questions about whether they’ve been able to identify drones using this capability.

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However, Senator Chuck Schumer called on Homeland Security to deploy better drone-tracking technology to identify the drones and their operators.

Schumer wants the federal government to use a recently declassified radio wave technology, which can be attached to a drone or airplane to determine whether another flying object is a bird or a drone, read its electronic registration, and follow it back to its landing place. But he said state and local authorities do not yet have the authority to track drones.

Has anyone been charged?

In Boston, city police arrested two men accused of operating a drone “dangerously close” to Logan Airport on Saturday night. Authorities said an officer using drone monitoring technology detected the aircraft and the location of the operators.

The two men were released without bail following their Monday arraignment, and are charged with trespassing, breaking and entering, and violating a municipal ordinance or bylaw.

However, they are not thought to be connected with the unknown drone flights.

“This is a timing issue,” attorney Michael Martin said. “This is the type of thing that if it occurred two months ago before the sensitivity of drone activity in New Jersey, we probably wouldn’t be here today.”

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Have airports been affected?

Drones flying around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, forced base officials to close its airspace for about four hours late Friday into early Saturday, said Robert Purtiman, a base spokesperson.

It was the first time drones had been spotted at the base, one of the largest in the world, and no sightings have been reported since, Purtiman said Monday. He said the drones had no impact on any facilities on the base.

And runways at Stewart International Airport — about 100 kilometres north of New York City — were shut down for about an hour Friday night because of drone activity, Governor. Kathy Hochul said.

“This has gone too far,” she said in a statement.

Who is behind the drones?

Authorities say they do not know.

Speculation has raged online, with some expressing concerns that the drones could be part of a nefarious plot by foreign agents.

Officials stress that ongoing investigations have found no evidence to support those concerns, but New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith on Saturday echoed such speculation.

“The elusive maneuvering of these drones suggests a major military power sophistication that begs the question whether they have been deployed to test our defence capabilities — or worse — by violent dictatorships, perhaps maybe Russia, or China, or Iran, or North Korea,” he said.

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said Wednesday that the aircraft are not U.S. military drones.

The federal Homeland Security Department and FBI said in a joint statement they have no evidence that the sightings pose “a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.”

With files from The Associated Press

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