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More than 20 days after the phenomenon, the Pentagon still has no answers about the origins of the mysterious NJ drones


More than three weeks after dozens of mysterious drones began appearing in the New Jersey night sky, the public has yet to be offered a clear view of what the phenomenon might be.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew, RNJ, suggested the swarms of unmanned aerial vehicles could be from an Iranian “mother ship.”

The Pentagon rejected his idea.

“There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there is no so-called mothership launching drones at the United States,” Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said. He added that there is “no evidence” to suggest the drones are “the work of a foreign adversary”.

“We’re not being told the truth,” Van Drew responded Thursday on Fox News. “They’re treating the American public like we’re stupid.”

While the The Pentagon maintains that the drones are not foreign, the FBI has admitted it is “concerned” by how little the agency knows about them.

Asked whether Americans are “at risk,” Robert Wheeler, the FBI’s deputy director of the Critical Incident Response Group, told Congress: “There is nothing known that would lead me to say that, but we just don’t know. And that’s the relative part.”

In recent weeks, drones have flown near sensitive sites, such as a military research facility.

Photos taken in the Bay Shore section of Toms River of what appear to be large drones hovering in the area at high altitude

Photos taken in the Bay Shore section of Toms River of what appear to be large drones hovering in the high-altitude area of ​​New Jersey on Sunday, December 8, 2024. The drones appeared to be well above the 400-foot altitude allowed by FAA regulations. (Doug Hood/Asbury Park Press)

And if the drones aren’t of foreign origin, viewers wonder why it’s taking so long for US agencies to figure out who’s behind them.

“What I can say is that many of our detection systems, means of tracking and understanding, are vastly undersized and radically outdated,” Doug Birkey, executive director of the Mitchell Institute for Aerospace Studies, told Fox News Digital.

“So it wouldn’t surprise me that we might still be out of sync with that and not understand it to the level that we should,” he added. “After the Cold War, the notion of air defense really fell behind.”

And Birkey is not convinced that the drones are not of foreign origin.

“I don’t think we can talk declaratively about the source, but they obviously seem to be of a certain sophistication, size and set of behaviors that would suggest a high potential to be from an adversary source,” he said.

NEW JERSEY DRONE WARNINGS: MILITARY ANALYSTS BREAK DOWN NATIONAL SECURITY CONCERNS, DOUBT HOBBYISTS AT PLAY

“I think they’re using them for intelligence, imagery and so on, but they can also test us to see what our responses are, to then help inform their strategies and their operating concepts.”

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy has insisted that drones do not pose a threat to public safety. The FBI is helping local law enforcement investigate and has asked the public for help through its tip line.

This is far from the first time unidentified drones have been seen flying near US military installations. last year, drones hovered near Langley Air Force Base during for two weeks, and its origin has not yet been revealed. Before that, a Chinese spy balloon crossed the US, hovering near military installations, for a week before being shot down on the East Coast.

“There are apparently few hard consequences (for drones) and this is causing a very dangerous risk of escalation.”

None of New Jersey’s drones have been shot down or their systems blocked by US officials. Drones flying near Langley were also not intercepted.

“Whoever flies these drones doesn’t necessarily care about their relationship with the Federal Aviation Administration, the FAA, because it’s clear that they’re breaking almost every rule that the FAA has in place for the safe flight of drones,” Pramod said Abichandani, associate professor in the School of NJIT. of Applied Engineering and a drone expert.

“These drones fly at night, over populated areas, they fly in groups, whether they’re programmed as a drone swarm or not,” he said. “All of these things are not freely allowed by the FAA.”

Photos taken in the Bay Shore section of Toms River of what appear to be large drones hovering in the area at high altitude

Photos taken in the Bay Shore section of Toms River of what appear to be large drones hovering in the high-altitude area of ​​New Jersey on Sunday, December 8, 2024. The drones appeared to be well above the 400-foot altitude allowed by FAA regulations. (Doug Hood/Asbury Park Press)

Drones in New Jersey

Several drones are seen in Bernardsville, New Jersey on December 5, 2024. (Brian Glenn/TMX/AP)

In military settings, officers use “swarms” of drones to attack enemies and make it harder for them to shoot down the drones.

The drones are “six feet in diameter,” fly in a coordinated manner with the lights off, and “appear to avoid detection by traditional methods,” he explains. New Jersey state Rep. Dawn Fantasia, who relayed a briefing given by law enforcement.

MYSTERIOUS DRONE SIGHTS CONTINUE TO BE REPORTED IN NEW JERSEY WITH NO ANSWERS

The drones were first spotted on November 18 and have been spotted every night since then, flying from dusk until 11pm. Reports have ranged from four to 180 sightings per night.

“We know nothing. Period. To claim there is no known or credible threat is incredibly misleading, and I informed all officials of that sentiment,” he said.

“At this point, I think military intervention is the only way forward. There will be no answers in the absence of proactivity.”

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The US Northern Command, the military command center tasked with defending the US homeland, said it had not yet been asked to step in and help.

“We are aware of and are monitoring reports of unauthorized drone flights in the vicinity of military installations in New Jersey, to include Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Weapons Station Earle, and are referring you to those facilities for information on any efforts they may be undertaking to ensure the safety and security of their personnel and operations,” a spokesperson for US Northern Command told Fox News Digital.



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