What we know about the mysterious drones reported over the East Coast

CNN
 — 

Mysterious flying objects overhead. Concern and confusion. And calls for military intervention.

This isn’t the plot of “War of the Worlds,” but rather the result of numerous unidentified drone sightings on the East Coast in recent weeks. The drones have been spotted over residential neighborhoods, restricted sites, and critical infrastructure.

The sightings have put intense pressure on federal agencies to provide more information about the aircraft, as officials have urged calm and emphasized there is no evidence suggesting the sightings pose a security threat.

Drone activity prompted at least one airport – New York’s Stewart International Airport – to temporarily close its runways for about an hour on Friday night.

“This has gone too far,” said New York Gov. Kathy Hochul on Saturday, adding last month she “directed the New York State Intelligence Center to actively investigate drone sightings and coordinate with federal law enforcement to address this issue.”

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security said in a joint statement Thursday there is “no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.”

Despite reassurances from federal officials, local politicians continue to press for more information and resources to investigate the sightings. In Morris County, New Jersey, officials have called for the “federal government to marshal all federal resources at its disposal, including the military, to end the unauthorized flight of drones over our county and other parts of New Jersey.”

Drones, a broad term for unmanned aerial vehicles, are widely owned across the United States. A total of 791,597 drones are registered with the FAA, nearly evenly divided between commercial and recreational use. They are used in various industries, including photography, agriculture and law enforcement.

There remains significant confusion about the exact nature of the sightings and how many are cases of “mistaken identity,” as suggested by Homeland Security Director Alejandro Mayorkas and White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby.

Here’s more on what we know and don’t know about the sightings.

Drone sightings have been reported in at least six states: New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Massachusetts and Virginia.

The sightings began on November 18 near Morris County, New Jersey, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Republican New Jersey Assemblyman Paul Kanitra told CNN’s Sara Sidner Friday morning there had been drone sightings every night since then. Unnerved residents have frequently reported seeing drones hovering overhead, sometimes traveling in clusters.

Concerns escalated after drones were spotted near the Picatinny Arsenal, a US military research facility, and over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster, according to military officials and state lawmakers. The sightings prompted the FAA to issue temporary flight restrictions over the properties.

“Several instances of unidentified drones entering the airspace” were also reported above Naval Weapons Station Earle, a US Navy base south of Middletown, although no direct threats were identified.

Democratic Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey posted videos to his X account showing what appeared to be a cluster of drones over the Round Valley Reservoir Thursday night. But on Saturday, he posted on X most of the aircraft he initially thought were drones, were “almost certainly planes.”

Representatives from the federal agencies investigating the drones have briefed local officials behind closed doors, stating the drones sometimes appear to fly in a coordinated pattern and can remain in flight for up to six hours, according to Montvale, New Jersey, Mayor Mike Ghassali.

New York State Police said Friday afternoon in a post on X they had received “numerous reports of drone sightings over the past 24 hours” and they were investigating the reports. “We have no evidence at this time that any of the reported sightings pose a public safety threat.”

Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella said the drones, often seen flying at night, have been spotted hovering over critical infrastructure, including Port Liberty New York near the Goethals Bridge, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and Fort Wadsworth, one of the oldest military installations in the country.

In her Saturday statement, Hochul urged Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act, which she said would empower state and local authorities in managing unmanned aircraft systems and enhance the FAA’s oversight of drones. She also called on the Biden administration to deploy additional “federal law enforcement to New York and the surrounding region to ensure the safety of our critical infrastructure and our people.”

Connecticut State Police announced Friday they have deployed a drone detection system to assist in the investigation of unauthorized drone sightings reported over Fairfield County.

“It’s very unsettling to public safety and security, both here in Fairfield and elsewhere,” Republican state Sen. Tony Hwang said in a statement Friday.

Pennsylvania Gov. Josh Shapiro said his administration is “aware of” reported drone sightings and is taking them seriously. The Democratic governor said Friday evening he directed the Pennsylvania State Police to further investigate the sightings, and police will be flying helicopters to try to “determine where these drones are originating from and what the purpose of these drones are.”

In Massachusetts, Gov. Maura Healey posted on X Saturday about the “growing number of drone sightings” in her state. She said state police were working alongside “local and federal partners” and urged drone operators to adhere to regulations.

And in Virginia, Gov. Glenn Youngkin said in a Saturday statement state police and the Department of Emergency Management were coordinating closely with “numerous federal partners” to respond to drone reports. He emphasized the “significant number of national security and critical infrastructure sites” in Virginia.

The FBI and DHS have said they believe most of the drone sightings are cases of “mistaken identity,” with members of the public misidentifying small, legally operating manned aircraft as drones.

Some of the sightings may also be commercial drones, Mayorkas told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer Friday.

“We know of no threat or nefarious activity,” Mayorkas said. “If we learn of any cause for concern, we will be transparent in our communication of it.”

Some of the more recent sightings might be due to copycats flying their drones as the phenomena get more news coverage, former FBI supervisory special agent Tom Adams told CNN Friday. He said there are often innocent explanations for the sightings as well.

“I can tell you from my firsthand experience conducting operations for the FBI, as well as investigations into the suspected sighting of drones at critical infrastructure, it was fairly common for planets, crewed aircraft and even low Earth orbit satellites to be misidentified as drones at night,” Adams said.

At a news briefing on Saturday, an FBI official reiterated the sightings were largely manned aircraft mistaken for drones. The official noted similar flight approach patterns from nearby airports matched the visual sightings reported to tip lines.

The FBI official said the tip line has received 5,000 tips, but fewer than 100 have led to leads “deemed worthy of further investigative activity.” No evidence supporting “large-scale UAS activity” has been found, the official said, using the acronym for “unmanned aircraft system.”

There’s been a “slight overreaction” to the reports, the FBI official said. Still, “we can’t ignore the sightings that have been there, and we are concerned about those just as much as anybody else is,” the official added.

An official with the Department of Defense, however, was less confident about the nature of the sightings.

“We don’t know if it’s malicious, if it is criminal. But I will tell you that it is – it is irresponsible,” the official said. “Here on the military side, we are just as frustrated with the irresponsible nature of this activity.”

The official added highly trained security personnel have reported sightings of drones at Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Weapons Station Earle, both in New Jersey. The points of origin and operators have not been identified, the official said.

The Pentagon shut down speculation the drones may originate from a foreign entity or adversary on Wednesday, hours after US Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a New Jersey Republican, told Fox News the drones were from “a mothership” from Iran that is “off the East Coast of the United States of America.”

“There is not any truth to that,” deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh said Wednesday. “There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there’s no so-called mothership launching drones towards the United States.”

The FBI is leading the investigation into the sightings alongside the Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness, while the US Coast Guard is assessing jurisdictional responses.

Despite federal officials’ assurances the drones don’t pose a public safety threat, Belleville, New Jersey, Mayor Michael Melham has said he has received guidance police should call the county bomb squad and local fire departments should wear hazmat suits if they encounter a downed drone.

“We just don’t know what these things are, so we are being cautious,” Melham said.

In contrast to federal officials’ pleas for calm regarding the sightings, Trump has urged the Biden administration to either release any information it has about the mysterious sightings or shoot the drones out of the sky.

“Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge. I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!” Trump posted on Truth Social.

US Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who sits on the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, similarly said Thursday the aircraft “should be shot down, if necessary, because they’re flying over sensitive areas.”

But shooting down unidentified aircraft poses its own problems. Speaking to CNN’s Wolf Blitzer, Mayorkas said, “It’s not as though anyone can just take down a drone in the sky. That in and of itself would be dangerous.”

Similarly, a source familiar with the national investigation into the aircraft told CNN shooting them out of the sky would be “beyond risky,” posing an unnecessary risk to people on the ground and legal challenges.

The source noted the government has various strategies that can be deployed if a drone poses an imminent threat, but so far, the mysterious flights have not been deemed threatening.

“Blowing it out of the sky is the last resort,” the source said.

Part of the challenge in monitoring drone activity stems from the fact regulation of the skies is almost entirely under federal jurisdiction, according to the chief executive of a company tracking unauthorized drone flights.

“The laws that regulate aircraft are not built to empower police to deal with the drones,” Axon CEO Rick Smith told CNN News Central Friday, “so if your local state fair has a drone coming towards it that police believe might be dangerous, right now there’s nothing they can do about it.”

FAA regulations allow operators of recreational drones to fly up to 400 feet above the ground in airspace not controlled by FAA air traffic controllers. The FAA does grant waivers on a case-by-case basis to those wanting to operate drones in more congested airspace or at higher altitudes.