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US officials: Most drone sightings in nation's Northeast skies are manned aircraft

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FILE - This photo provided by Trisha Bushey shows the evening sky and points of light near in Lebanon Township, New Jersey, Dec. 5, 2024.
FILE - This photo provided by Trisha Bushey shows the evening sky and points of light near in Lebanon Township, New Jersey, Dec. 5, 2024.

Officials from the White House, FBI and DHS on Saturday stressed that most of the recently reported drone sightings in New Jersey and nearby states involved manned aircraft, and there was no evidence of any national security threat.

An FBI official told reporters during an impromptu briefing that the agency was working with 50 local, state and federal partners to look into increased reports. The official said less than 100 of the over 5,000 reported sightings had turned out to merit further investigation, and all of the large fixed-wing reported sightings so far involved manned aircraft.

"The combination of efforts so far ... to include technical equipment, tip line information and noted consults has ... not found any evidence to support large-scale [unmanned aerial systems] activities," the official said, adding that many of the sightings occurred along regular flight paths.

Extensive efforts were underway to investigate the remaining cases, using interviews and analysis of radar and intelligence, the official added.

"We can't ignore the sightings that have been there," the official said. "We're doing our best to find the origin of those drone activities, but I think there has been a slight over-reaction."

FILE - This photo provided by Brian Glenn shows what appears to be multiple drones flying over Bernardsville, New Jersey, Dec. 5, 2024.
FILE - This photo provided by Brian Glenn shows what appears to be multiple drones flying over Bernardsville, New Jersey, Dec. 5, 2024.

A spate of reported drone sightings that began in New Jersey in mid-November spread in recent days to include Maryland, Massachusetts and other states. The sightings have garnered media attention and prompted creation of a Facebook page called "New Jersey Mystery Drones — let's solve it" with 56,000 online members.

U.S. President Joe Biden is receiving regular updates on the issue, a White House official said.

On Cape Cod in Massachusetts, residents and a police officer in Harwich reported seeing 10-15 drones flying in the Friday night sky, the Boston Herald reported.

Police relayed the information to the Boston FBI and Massachusetts State Police.

Governor Maura Healey said on Facebook that she is also “aware of a growing number of drone sightings across Massachusetts and we’re monitoring the situation closely.”

New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Saturday called for a boost in federal law enforcement efforts after the runways at a local airport in the Hudson Valley were shut down for one hour due to drone activity on Friday.

"This has gone too far," Hochul said in a statement on the social media network X, urging the Biden administration to boost law enforcement in New York and other areas, and calling on Congress to pass drone reform legislation.

FILE - In this image taken from video provided by MartyA45_, several drones appear to be flying over Randolph, New Jersey, Dec. 4, 2024.
FILE - In this image taken from video provided by MartyA45_, several drones appear to be flying over Randolph, New Jersey, Dec. 4, 2024.

An official with the Federal Aviation Administration said a temporary ban on drone activity had been put in place over Picatinny Arsenal, a military base in Wharton, New Jersey, that was due to expire on December 26 and could be made permanent.

There had been drone sightings over Picatinny and another naval weapons station in December, a military official told reporters, but there was no intelligence or observation that they were linked to a foreign actor or had malicious intent. Drone operations over military installations are generally banned, but occur from time to time, the official added.

A second ban was put in place over Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey, that was due to expire on December 20, but could be extended, the FAA official said.

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    Reuters

    Reuters is a news agency founded in 1851 and owned by the Thomson Reuters Corporation based in Toronto, Canada. One of the world's largest wire services, it provides financial news as well as international coverage in over 16 languages to more than 1000 newspapers and 750 broadcasters around the globe.

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