Uncertainty about drones continues in some US states

2024-12-16 20:23:00, Kosova & Bota CNA

President-elect Donald Trump's incoming National Security Adviser Michael Waltz said Sunday that the time has come to figure out where the dozens of mysterious drones flying over the eastern US are coming from, and whether they have malicious intent.

During an interview for the CBS television network, he said that this issue "must go to the end".

For weeks, residents of the state of New Jersey, as well as several other states in the north and south of the country, along the coastline of the Atlantic Ocean, have reported seeing more than 5,000 drones.

But authorities have concluded that the figure is grossly inflated.

These developments have given voice to various conspiracy theories, among them that it is a matter of acts of espionage by the American government, or that the drones were launched by Iran, from a ship located outside territorial waters, east of the United States.

Mr. Waltz said drones are staying in the sky for a while and can be dangerous.

He praised President Joe Biden's administration for trying to allay fears and resolve any mystery surrounding the drones, but offered no explanation on the case.

Democratic Senator Amy Klobuchar told the CBS television network that "more transparency is needed" around this issue.

New Jersey is the state with the most drone notifications.

On Saturday, officials from the White House, the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) stressed that most recent drone reports have been manned aircraft that pose no threat to national security.

An FBI official told reporters that the agency was working with 50 state and federal government partners and had determined that of more than 5,000 drone notifications, fewer than 100 warranted further investigation.

The same official said no evidence of large-scale drone activity had been found, adding that many of the reports referred to 'regular flight corridors'.

He added that investigations are continuing with the remaining cases, analyzing radar data and reconnaissance information.

" We cannot ignore the (drone) reports ," the official said. " We are doing our best to find the origin of these activities, but I think there has been an exaggeration of the situation regarding the number of drones that are supposed to have been seen ".

US officials have confirmed that drones have been seen over military bases in New Jersey, such as the Picatinny Arsenal (a military facility used for weapons research and production), but no evidence has been found that a foreign government is behind them.

However, national security officials have not been able to say who is behind the mysterious drones.

Officials in eastern coastal states have expressed concern over these developments.

In a social media post on Friday, former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan announced that he had seen "dozens of large drones in the sky" over his residence in the state.

" The public is becoming increasingly concerned and stressed over the complete lack of transparency and dismissive attitude of the federal government ," he wrote.

President-elect Trump suggested on Saturday that the Biden administration was not being transparent about the drone announcements, adding that the flying objects should be shot down.

New Jersey Republican lawmaker Christopher Smith said in a statement Friday that the White House's stance on the issue had been "dismissive."

US officials said Saturday that the administration had sent New Jersey officials radars equipped with an "infrared camera system" to track the objects.

Last week, White House Homeland Security spokesman John Kirby said that after an investigation into the drone alerts, no illegal activity had been discovered.

" On the contrary, after reviewing the available footage, it appears that many of the reported footage are actually piloted aircraft that were operated legally ," said Mr. Kirby./ VOA