The thousands of drone sightings reported over the past month in northeastern states do not appear to be “anything out of the ordinary” nor do they pose a national security or public safety risk, federal officials said in a multi-agency statement late Monday .
The FBI has received more than 5,000 tips in the past few weeks about drone sightings in New Jersey and other states, said the statement, which was released jointly by the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the Federal Aviation Administration and the Department of Defense.
Those tips have resulted in about 100 leads, with federal investigators supporting state and local officials.
“After carefully examining the technical data and tips from concerned citizens, we believe that the sightings to date include a combination of legitimate commercial drones, hobby drones and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and stars mistakenly reported as drones, ” the joint declaration states.
In this photo taken from video, drones appear to be flying over Randolph, NJ, December 4, 2024.
AP
Unmanned aerial drones have been lighting up the night sky in New Jersey and nearby states for weeks since around mid-November, prompting concern from residents and speculation online. Some had demanded answers from local and state officials.
The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security have deployed infrared cameras and drone detection technology to ensure the drones flying over the New Jersey and New York area are not harmful, according to a law enforcement source. Dozens of agencies have been out daily to find answers and track down any operators acting “illegally or with malicious intent,” the FBI said recently.
The agencies are also looking at social media and other images to determine what exactly is in the images. Most of the images and videos show manned aircraft, according to a police source.
This photo provided by Trisha Bushey shows the evening sky and points of light near Lebanon Township, NJ, on Thursday, December 5, 2024.
Trisha Bushey via AP
But the newly released statement appeared to take a sober view of the mysterious drone sightings, noting that federal officials have yet to identify “anything unusual and do not judge the activity to date to pose a national security or public safety risk beyond that civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the Northeast.”
“That said, we recognize the concern among many communities,” the statement said. “We continue to support state and local authorities with advanced detection technology and law enforcement support.”
ABC News’ Calvin Milliner, David Brennan, Luke Barr, Meredith Deliso, Luis Martinez, Matt Seyler, Aaron Katersky, Sarah Kolinovsky and Cheyenne Haslett contributed to this report.
