After weeks of fear and confusion over drones flying over parts of New York and New Jersey, elected officials are calling for action to identify and stop these mysterious flights.
“A lot of us are pretty frustrated right now,” Rep. Jim Himes, D-Conn., the top Democrat on the House Intelligence Committee, said on “Fox News Sunday.”
“‘We don’t know’ is not a sufficient answer,” he said.
National security officials have said the drones do not appear to be a sign of foreign interference or a threat to public safety. But because they can’t say for sure who is responsible for the sudden swarms of drones over parts of New Jersey, New York and other parts of the eastern United States — or how they can be arrested – has led leaders of both political parties to demand better technology and powers to manage drones.
Sen. Chuck Schumer on Sunday called on the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to deploy better drone tracking technology to identify drones and their operators.
“New Yorkers have huge questions about this,” Schumer, the Senate majority leader, told reporters about the drone sightings. “We’re going to get answers for them.” »
The federal government did little to answer these questions during its own press briefings Sunday morning. “There’s no question that people are seeing drones,” U.S. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos. “But I want to assure the American public that we are in this.” We work in close coordination with national and local authorities.
Some of the drones reported in parts of New York and New Jersey turned out to be “piloted aircraft that are often confused with drones,” Mayorkas said. “We are not aware of any foreign involvement in the sightings in the Northeast. And we are vigilant in our investigation of this matter.
Last year, federal aviation rules began requiring some drones to broadcast their identification remotely, including the location of their operators. It is unclear whether this information was used to determine who is behind the drones plaguing New York and New Jersey. Mayorkas’ office did not respond to questions about the ability to identify drones using this capability.
Schumer wants the federal government to use recently declassified radio wave technology in New York and New Jersey. The radio wave detector can be attached to a drone or aircraft and can determine whether another flying object is a bird or a drone, read its electronic recording and track it to its landing location. Schumer said state and local authorities do not have the authority to track drones.
On Sunday, New York Governor Kathy Hochul said federal authorities were sending a drone detection system to the state.
“This system will support state and federal law enforcement in their investigations,” Hochul said in a statement. The governor did not immediately provide additional details, including where the system will be deployed.
Dozens of mysterious nighttime flights began last month over parts of New Jersey, sparking concern among residents and officials. Part of the concern stems from the fact that the flying objects were initially spotted near the Picatinny Arsenal, a U.S. military research and manufacturing facility, and over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster . Drones are legal in New Jersey for recreational and commercial use, but they are subject to local and Federal Aviation Administration regulations and flight restrictions. Operators must be FAA certified.
Drones are now being reported all along the Northeast coast, with suspicious sightings in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania and Virginia, according to media reports.
Some US political leaders, including Trump, have called for much stronger action against these drones, including shooting them down.
Some Department of Homeland Security agencies have the authority to “neutralize” drones, Mayorkas said Sunday. “But we need to expand these powers,” he said.
A bill before the U.S. Senate would strengthen the authority of some federal agencies and give new capabilities to local and state agencies to track drones. It would also launch a pilot program allowing states and local authorities to disrupt, disable or seize a drone without the operator’s prior consent.
“What the drone problem highlights are gaps in our agencies, gaps in our authorities between the Department of Homeland Security, local law enforcement and the Department of Defense,” said the Representative Mike Waltz, Republican of Florida, chosen by Trump to be his nominee. national security adviser, speaking Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” “Americans find it hard to believe that we can’t understand where this is coming from.”
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Collins reported from Hartford, Connecticut.