Since mid-November, a wave of mysterious drone sightings — mostly in New Jersey, but now also in New York and other areas of the eastern United States — has fueled conspiracy theories, a trail of mysterious speculation on the Internet and the well-known dose, if not psychosis, of restlessness. Lawmakers from both parties are pressuring the federal government to provide credible explanations for the flurry of flights, some of which, authorities have confirmed, have skirted military installations and Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.
While the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security of the federal government and local agencies investigate the phenomenon, the White House, the target of criticism from the incoming Administration for not addressing the matter more decisively, was forced to call a meeting on Saturday. teleconference with journalists to send a message of reassurance: drones are not a threat to national or public security, nor the work of a foreign agent with bad intentions, for example China, the name on almost everyone’s lips, and which in February 2023 placed two supposedly spy balloons, one over Atlantic waters and the other over the State of Montana. Both were shot down by American fighters.
Despite the call for calm, citizen anxiety does not cease. Driven by a fever similar to that of UFOs in the sixties and seventies, which has also never subsided, Americans on the East Coast look to the sky in search of signs, lights and contrails. Officials from the FBI, Pentagon, Federal Aviation Administration and other agencies have concluded that many of the reported sightings are actually small planes or other manned aircraft flying legally. With respect to unmanned aircraft, what experts have not been able to determine is whether it is a single device that has been sighted several times at different points or several aircraft flying in a coordinated effort, which would presuppose intention or plan by part of its operators. In the case of New Jersey, where the constellation of devices is most visible, the FBI has asked residents to share videos, photos and any other information they can gather about their presence. It has received about 5,000 tips and continues to investigate a hundred of them.
Some devices have bordered on illegality, if not danger. In Boston, police arrested two men Saturday night accused of operating a drone “dangerously close” to the city’s airport. According to authorities, an agent using drone surveillance technology detected the device and the location of its operators. A third man fled from police and remains missing. The two detainees face charges of breaking and entering.
Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, near Dayton (Ohio), closed its airspace for four hours between Friday and Saturday, due to the presence of an undetermined number of drones, which did not appear again after the closure of the facilities. It was the first time that unmanned devices were seen at the base, one of the largest in the world. According to a military spokesman, they were of different sizes and did not affect any operations or installations at the base.
In New York, although reports of sightings have increased, the actual number of drone sightings has remained stable, as reported this Monday by the Intelligence and Counterterrorism Division of the Police Department. Frequent news stories and social media posts about the matter may have led New Yorkers to be more vigilant than usual, which the source said would have led to an increase in complaints. But many of the sightings turned out not to be drones, an official confirmation that only adds questions to the great mystery.
Flight counts and technical details aside, the peaceful drone invasion has mobilized politicians on the eve of the transfer of power in the White House. Many legislators have closed ranks with the perplexed inhabitants of their constituencies, their voters, and even asked the competent authorities to shoot down the unidentified aircraft, although such a measure, in addition to being dangerous and illegal, could lead to undesirable consequences such as “serious material damage and injuries,” according to experts and federal officials.
Although the ghost devices have been seen in at least seven States, in none like New Jersey, a neighboring State of New York, their presence has caused such tension. Governor Phil Murphy and Senator Andy Kim, both Democrats, have literally gone on a drone hunt, hoping to find answers. Murphy posted on the social network “The public deserves clear answers: we will continue to press the federal government for more information and resources,” he wrote.
Speculations and enemies
Both the governor and local security forces agree that the flights do not appear to be a threat to public safety, but, along with state legislators and municipal authorities, they have called for stricter operating rules. The devices began flying over New Jersey in mid-November. At first they were seen along a picturesque river that feeds the largest aquifer in the State, just 80 kilometers east of New York. They soon began to identify themselves near a military research center and the golf course, and occasional venue for political meetings and rallies, of President-elect Donald Trump.
The Republican representative for New Jersey, Chris Smith, has put the fan on the speculation that boils on the networks and maintains not only that drones are everywhere, but that behind them is the enemy himself. “The elusive maneuvers of these drones suggest a high-powered military sophistication that leads one to wonder whether they have been deployed to test our defense capabilities—if not worse—by violent dictatorships, perhaps Russia, or China, or Iran, or North Korea,” he said.
“The Biden Administration continues to disdain New Jersey residents who have witnessed this swarm of drones, including from the ocean, following a Coast Guard boat, and over critical military bases like the Naval Weapons Station [situada] in my congressional district.” Some press reports, including one from Daily Mail, They cite intelligence experts who suggest that Russia could be responsible (…) The lack of action [de la Administración de Biden] and his empty words will only cause increased speculation and understandable concern for so many people,” Smith said in a statement Friday.
The phenomenon, which some already jokingly define as a minor sequel to war of the worldsdoes not pass for the moment to be an episode more typical of the genre pulp than from the Pentagon’s classified files. But a month after the White House takes over, some are already wondering what kind of artillery Trump would respond with if the devices continue doing their thing.
