Everything We Know About ‘Mystery Drones’ Spotted Over the East Coast

• Dozens of unidentified planes have been spotted over cities in the eastern United States.

• Some of the suspected drones have been seen flying over military bases and airports.

• The FBI said Saturday it was still investigating but did not believe they posed a threat.

Dozens of unidentified planes, at least some of which appear to be drones, have been seen flying over New Jersey and other neighboring states at night since mid-November, sparking concern among local authorities and speculation among residents. citizens.

Officials with the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the Department of Homeland Security told reporters Saturday that they were still investigating but had no evidence that the plane posed a threat to the public or was linked to an adversary stranger.

“But…we don’t know,” a Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson said Saturday, confirming sightings at two New Jersey military bases. “We were unable to locate or identify the operators or points of origin.”

New York Governor Kathy Hochul also spoke out Saturday, calling for an increase federal drone surveillance. “This has gone too far,” she said.

Here’s everything we know so far about “mystery drones.”

Where have residents reported seeing unidentified planes?

Residents and officials have reported spotting an unidentified aircraftpresumably drones, flying over New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Maryland, Massachusetts and Pennsylvania in recent weeks. The first sightings, according to the FBI, took place on November 18.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy told reporters As of Monday, some of the suspected drones are “very sophisticated” and can “go dark” from “the minute you observe them.” Others described the aircraft as being larger than normal recreational drones and capable of avoiding detection.

“This is something we take very seriously and we’ve gotten good cooperation from the federal government, but we need more,” Murphy told reporters.

Drones have been spotted near Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Weapons Station Earle, two New Jersey military bases and a New York airport serving the public and the military. However, officials stressed that such sightings are commonplace.

“This is not a new problem for us. We have been dealing with drone incursions over our bases for some time now,” the Joint Chiefs of Staff spokesperson said on Saturday. “This is something we respond to regularly in every case where a news story is cited.”

There are also reports of drones suspected of following a US Coast Guard vessel, as well as statements from local police about the presence of unidentified aircraft near critical infrastructure.

The U.S. Northern Command, charged with overseeing U.S. homeland protection, said it was “aware of and monitoring reports of unauthorized drone flights near military installations in New Jersey.”

What are the authorities saying about these mysterious drones?

President-elect Donald Trump said Friday Social truth that drones “cannot be done without the knowledge of our government” and suggested they be shot down. Other officials have expressed concern that they could be cut down due to the threat falling debris poses to local populations. Neither kinetic nor electronic warfare methods are particularly ideal near civilian areas.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey said on Fox News on Wednesday that the drones came from an Iranian “mothership” off the U.S. East Coast, citing “very senior sources.”

Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh rejected the claim at a news conference later in the day, saying that “there are no Iranian ships off the coast of the United States, and there are there is no so-called mothership launching drones towards the United States.”

Singh said the Pentagon has no proof that the reported drone sightings are the work of a foreign adversary. Even if Iran has ships who can transport dronesthey were spotted off its southern coast as recently as Thursday – debunking Van Drew’s claims.

He doubled down on Thursday, saying the government was not telling the truth. The congressman said it could be another ship belonging to another enemy. A Department of Homeland Security official said Saturday there was no evidence of any foreign involvement in sending drones ashore from ships in the region.

John Kirby, a White House National Security Council spokesman, said Thursday that the United States has “no evidence” that the reported drone sightings pose a threat to public safety. He added that the government believes some of the suspected drones were actually manned aircraft operating legally.

Speaking to reporters Saturday, an FBI official said the bureau had received 5,000 tips through a national tip line, but of those reports, fewer than 100 were deemed worthy of further investigation.

“We are doing our best to find the origin of these drone activities,” the FBI official said. “But I think there was a slight overreaction.”

Local authorities are demanding more information.

New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement Saturday that runways at Stewart International Airport in Orange County were closed for an hour due to unidentified drone activity. Hochul called on Congress to step up drone oversight by the Federal Aviation Administration and provide anti-unmanned aircraft equipment to local law enforcement.

Mayors of 21 New Jersey cities also sent a letter to Governor Murphy on Monday demanding more transparency.

“Despite requests to the relevant authorities, we have not yet received satisfactory answers on the purpose, operators or safety protocols governing these flights,” the letter said.

The FBI said it was leading the investigation. Local law enforcement is also investigating.

Unidentified flying objects and previous drone sightings

There have been a number of sightings of suspected drones and other unusual flying objects over or near military installations in recent years.

In February 2023, for example, the United States shot down three unidentified objects flying over American airspace for three days. The incidents followed the withdrawal by the United States of a spy balloon off the coast of North Carolina, the government said it came from China.

As for drone activity, The Wall Street Journal reported in October that drones had been spotted over a military base in Virginia and the Nevada Department of Energy’s national security site there. previous year. Retired U.S. Air Force Gen. Mark Kelly, who led Air Combat Command until March of this year, said he learned of the sightings in December 2023, when officials at Langley Air Force Base , Virginia, reported seeing dozens of drones flying over the base. at night. It is unclear who was behind these incidents.

Although the federal government says the latest sightings are not the work of adversaries nor pose a threat to public safety, many recent incidents near bases have raised national security concerns.

For example, federal authorities on Monday charged a Chinese citizen residing in California, Yinpiao Zhou, with failure to register an untransportable aircraft and violating national defense airspace. The Justice Department accused Zhou of using a drone to photograph Vandenberg Space Base in Santa Barbara County on November 30.

Police arrested Zhou at San Francisco International Airport before he boarded a flight to China.

And another man, Fengyun Shi, a Chinese national, was sentenced to six months in federal prison in October for photographing classified U.S. Navy ships with a drone in Virginia. Fengyun, a student at the University of Minnesota, pleaded guilty to two misdemeanor counts of unauthorized use of an aircraft to illegally photograph a designated facility.

The FBI official who spoke to reporters Saturday said of the most recent sightings: “We are doing everything we can, alongside our partners, to understand what is happening and whether there is or not more nefarious activities that we need to explore.”

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