A coalition of lawmakers from New York and New Jersey this week called for answers about recent drone activity in the two states.
Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Andy Kim (D-N.J.) sent a letter to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, the FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration requesting a briefing on how federal and local law enforcement are addressing the source of recent “unmanned aerial system activity.”
The letter, which followed multiple unexplained drone sightings in the New York City area and northern New Jersey, stated that residents and local police have reported drones flying at night since late November. The lawmakers highlighted potential safety and security risks, noting that the drones are sometimes seen “at sensitive military sites.”
They also stressed the potential for drones to disrupt public safety, pointing to an incident where a medical helicopter was “prevented from transporting a seriously injured patient for care because of the presence of these drones.”
“We request that the briefing you provide also include any authorities, tools or staff your agencies may require to address these ongoing incidents and the broader security challenge,” the letter read.
The letter followed similar comments made by Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) on Thursday, when he called for the drones to be “shot down, if necessary,” especially over airports or military bases.
“We should be doing some very urgent intelligence analysis and take them out of the skies, especially if they’re flying over airports or military bases,” Blumenthal said.
In response, the White House said Thursday that a review of the sightings found that many were likely manned aircrafts, not drones. National Security spokesman John Kirby also said there was no evidence that the sightings posed a national security or public safety threat.
Pentagon spokesperson Sabrina Singh has also confirmed they are not U.S. military drones.
Meanwhile, New York City Emergency Management said it is not aware of any confirmed drone sightings in the city. However, the agency previously posted that a drone show in New Jersey may have been visible from Staten Island.
The FBI and DHS, in a joint statement, confirmed they were investigating the sightings. They noted that they will work in coordination with local law enforcement to “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 agencies said they have not corroborated any of the reported sightings with electronic detection, and that reviews of available images appear to show many of the reported drones are actually manned aircraft.
The drones appear to avoid detection by traditional methods such as helicopter and radio, according to a state lawmaker briefed Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security.