President Joe Biden stated that there appears to be nothing “nefarious” about the recent sightings of mystery drones in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern U.S., suggesting they may be flown by hobbyists. He noted that his administration is monitoring the situation closely and has found no immediate danger.
President-elect Donald Trump criticized the government for not being transparent about the situation, claiming that the military knows more than it is revealing. Trump said, “The government knows what is happening.”
Trump added, “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, and for some reason they don’t want to comment.”
Trump stated, “And I think they’d be better off saying what it is. Our military knows and our president knows. And for some reason, they want to keep people in suspense.”
Biden stated, “Nothing nefarious, apparently, but they’re checking it all out,” adding, “There’s a lot of drones authorized up there. I think one started it and they all — everybody wanted to get in the deal.”
Major General Pat Ryder confirmed that the drones are not part of a government test and noted that most sightings likely involve lawful commercial or hobbyist drones. Ryder said, “Is it possible that some of those drones could be up to malign activity? It’s entirely possible, but the vast majority, that is not the case.”
A joint statement from federal agencies indicated that they have not identified any threats to public safety related to these sightings. The statement said, “Having closely examined the technical data and tips from concerned citizens, we assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones.”
The statement added, “We have not identified anything anomalous and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the northeast.”
