DHS, FBI Release Statement About Drone Sightings In New Jersey

Federal authorities released a statement on Thursday about recent drone sightings in New Jersey that have garnered national media attention, saying that images and videos that have gone viral online are of lawfully operated manned aircraft.

The joint statement from the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation comes after alleged sightings of large drones flying over New Jersey and other parts of the East Coast.

“We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus,” the statement said. “The FBI, DHS and our federal partners, in close coordination with the New Jersey State Police, continue to deploy personnel and technology to investigate this situation and confirm whether the reported drone flights are actually drones or are instead manned aircraft or otherwise inaccurate sightings.”

The statement said that historically what they have found when they get reports of suspicious drone activity is that the flying objects are actually “manned aircraft or facilities.”

“We are supporting local law enforcement in New Jersey with numerous detection methods but have not corroborated any of the reported visual sightings with electronic detection,” the statement said. “To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully. There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted air space.”

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DHS and the FBI said that they take the threat that drones pose seriously which is why law enforcement and other agencies are continuing to investigate and monitor the situation.

“To be clear, they have uncovered no such malicious activity or intent at this stage,” the statement confirmed. “While there is no known malicious activity occurring in New Jersey, the reported sightings there do, however, highlight the insufficiency of current authorities.”