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Feds, U.S. Military Release Statement Assessing What People Are Seeing With Drone Sightings
Federal authorities and the U.S. military released a detailed statement on Monday night saying that after an extensive investigation, the mysterious drone sightings that people have seen on the East Coast do not amount to anything nefarious, nor is there any threat to the public.
The statement comes from the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, FAA, and Department of Defense. It follows weeks of speculation and widespread news coverage of the sightings, many of which have occurred in New Jersey.
“Having closely examined the technical data and tips from concerned citizens, we assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones,” the statement said. “We have not identified anything anomalous and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the northeast.”
The U.S. government entities said that there are currently more than a million registered drones in the U.S. and that thousands are flown daily, which they expect to increase in the years to come.
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They said that the FBI alone has received more than 5,000 tips over the last few weeks, which has generated approximately 100 leads that authorities have investigated.
“We continue to support state and local authorities with advanced detection technology and support of law enforcement,” the statement said. “We urge Congress to enact counter-UAS legislation when it reconvenes that would extend and expand existing counter-drone authorities to identify and mitigate any threat that may emerge.”
They added that drone sightings near U.S. military facilities, while concerning, are not a new phenomenon and that the Department of Defense “takes unauthorized access over its airspace seriously and coordinates closely with federal, state, and local law enforcement authorities, as appropriate.”
“Local commanders are actively engaged to ensure there are appropriate detection and mitigation measures in place,” the statement added.