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On December 16, the White House addressed public concerns regarding mysterious drone sightings across the United States, stating that the aircraft were lawful and did not pose any threat to national security.
During a press briefing, White House National Security spokesman John Kirby explained that the drones were identified as “a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones and law enforcement drones, as well as fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and even stars that were mistakenly reported as drones.”
“We have not identified anything anomalous or any national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the Northeast,” Kirby said. “The work continues.”
Kirby added that the FBI has received approximately 5,000 reports of drone sightings in recent weeks. However, after investigation, only around 100 reports were deemed to require follow-up.
“We obviously recognize the concern among many communities,” he said, noting that the federal government will continue to support state and local authorities in addressing the issue.
Kirby emphasized that more than one million drones are registered with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), and thousands of commercial, hobbyist, and law enforcement drones operate across the country on a daily basis.
The press conference followed remarks from President-elect Donald Trump, who suggested the federal government was withholding information about the origins of the drones seen in New Jersey and surrounding areas.
“The government knows what is happening,” Trump said during a news conference at his Mar-a-Lago residence on Monday. “Look, our military knows where they took off from. If it’s a garage, they can go right into that garage. They know where it came from and where it went. For some reason, they don’t want to comment. And I think they’d be better off saying what it is our military knows and [what] our president knows.”
When asked about Trump’s comments, Kirby reiterated that the government would not speculate or share information without full confidence in its accuracy.
“I would say that we are making a very good-faith effort to be as open and direct with all of you and with the American people as we can,” Kirby stated. “There’s absolutely no effort to be anything other than as upfront as we can be.”
Drone sightings have been reported in New Jersey and other states in the Northeast since November. Additionally, Wright–Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio—home to the Air Force Research Laboratory and the National Air and Space Intelligence Center—briefly closed its airspace on December 13 due to drone activity in the area.
On Truth Social last week, Trump stated that drones should be shot down if their origins cannot be determined. In response, Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas acknowledged that the government’s authority to take down drones remains limited.
“I want to assure the American public that we in the federal government have deployed additional resources, personnel, and technology to assist the New Jersey State Police in addressing the drone sightings,” Mayorkas said in an interview with ABC News on December 15.
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