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A series of sunset sightings have sparked concern along the US east coast and widespread anger at the government’s lack of serious action.
Officials in New Jersey since last month have been flooded with reports of drones it looks out into the night sky, sometimes in groups and without any purpose, above the populated world.
Government officials have tried to calm the public but have not disclosed anything about the incident.
“At this time we have no evidence that the drone activity poses a threat to national security or public safety or is owned by foreign countries,” the FBI and the US Department of Homeland Security said. he said this week.
These assurances do little to allay fears over flying machines, whose owners and homes remain a mystery.
“It’s disappointing, frankly, that our officials expect us to believe that they don’t know what’s going on. We can shoot a missile 5,000 miles away, but we don’t know where these drones are coming from? said James Dodd, mayor of Dover, New Jersey.
Dover is across the street from the Picatinny Arsenal, a US military base. The Federal Aviation Administration imposed a temporary ban on unmanned aerial vehicles in the area last month, citing “special safety reasons”. Similar restrictions were announced this month for the area surrounding President-elect Donald Trump’s golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey.
No such restrictions have been enacted elsewhere in the state, as far as drones are concerned.
Dodd was one of the New Jersey mayors who were invited to a briefing by the New Jersey Police Department this week. He said he left disappointed by what he considered to be too little of a big issue.
He posted on his town’s website a question and answer document he received from the Department of Homeland Security. “At this time, it is not known who is using the drones,” the statement said.
Drone reports have been circulating up and down the eastern seaboard. Larry Hogan, the former governor of Maryland, posted on social media that he saw “what appeared to be large drones in the sky” above his home for 45 minutes Thursday night.
“Like many who have seen these drones, I don’t know if this proliferation of our airspace is a threat to public safety or national security. But people are worried and frustrated by the lack of transparency and contempt for the federal government,” Hogan wrote. He posted a video of what he said was the plane.
New York Governor Kathy Hochul said Friday that the state is investigating what happened in her state, in cooperation with state officials.
State regulations place few limits on the use of civilian drones, said Mary-Lou Smulders, chief marketing officer at Dedrone, a company that helps law enforcement agencies identify drones. Offenses include flying too close to airports and sensitive areas such as nuclear power plants and above 400ft in altitude.
Even so, the rules are often flouted. Dedrone’s sensors have recorded more than 1.1mn violations so far this year.
State and local police are not allowed to stop drones, Smulders said. That power is limited to four federal departments in some cases, making it difficult to crack down on lawbreakers.
State officials say they have not disclosed any wrongdoing related to the New Jersey airline. “Maybe it’s some people who think it’s funny that they can make this,” Smulders speculates. “What . . . Could there be a purpose for flying at night? Not much.”
The FBI questions whether many of the sightings were drones at all. “In fact, when we look at the available images, it appears that most of the sightings are of manned aircraft, operating legally,” the Department of Homeland Security said.
New Jersey, located between New York City and Philadelphia, has some of the busiest airports in North America.
The unresolved concerns have led to urgent calls for action. This week New Jersey Republican Congressman Jeff Van Drew said the planes were taking off from an “Iranian submarine” in the Atlantic.
Trump stood up on Friday, sending on his social network that the government must come or shoot down the plane.
US officials have said they do not see the drone activity as being linked to foreign players or adversaries. Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh on Wednesday said no Iranian warships are launching drones into the US.
Additional reporting by Felicia Schwartz in Washington
