New York’s top political leaders are calling on the federal government to deploy high-tech hunter drones to unravel the mystery of what’s behind it. many observations whatever you think unmanned flying objects Communities in New York and New Jersey have been in turmoil, prompting authorities to close an airport over the weekend.
Senator Chuck Schumer of New York said Sunday that he is urging the US Department of Homeland Security to immediately deploy special, unclassified drone detection technology to get to the bottom of what has been troubling and confusing residents of the region.
“If there’s the technology to get a drone up in the sky, there’s certainly the technology to accurately track the ship and determine what the hell is going on,” Schumer said at a news conference. “And that’s what Robin (the radar system) does today.”
“We’re asking DHS, the Department of Homeland Security, to implement special detection systems like the Robin, which don’t use line-of-sight, but 360-degree technology, which has a much better chance of detecting these drones. And we’re asking DHS to bring them to the New York, New Jersey area “, he said.
This photo provided by Brian Glenn shows what appear to be multiple drones flying over Bernardsville, NJ on December 5, 2024.
Brian Glenn/TMX via AP, FILE
He said the technology was initially used to detect birds and prevent them from flying into aircraft engines.
“Drone radar relies on the use of radio waves. The radio waves are sent out in pulses, which means it’s detectable,” Schumer said. “The question is, why haven’t the federal authorities detected them yet?”
Earlier Sunday, Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas in a interview on ABC’s “This Week.” the federal government is taking action to combat drone surveillance that has rattled the nerves of residents in New Jersey and New York.
“There’s no doubt that people are watching drones,” Mayorkas told “This Week” anchor George Stephanopoulos. “I want to assure the American public that we have deployed additional resources, personnel and technology across the federal government to assist the New Jersey State Police in responding to drone sightings.”
Mayorkas said some of the sightings are drones, while others have been manned aircraft that are commonly mistaken for drones.
This photo provided by Trisha Bushey shows the evening sky and points of light in Lebanon Township, NJ on December 5, 2024.
Trisha Bushey/AP
“I want to assure the American public that we are on this,” Mayorkas said, adding that he is calling on Congress to help address the issue of expanding local and state authority.
Since mid-November there have been numerous sightings of alleged women on the east coast, most of them in New Jersey.
Witnesses have described seeing drones the size of compact cars lighting up the night sky and hovering over houses. There have also been sightings of what appeared to be several large drones clustered together flying near military installations and President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey.
The Federal Aviation Administration has imposed drone flight restrictions while authorities investigate.
Officials from several agencies on Saturday stressed that the federal government’s investigation into the drone sightings is ongoing. On a call with reporters, an FBI official said that of the nearly 5,000 tips the agency has received, fewer than 100 have produced credible leads for further investigation. A DHS official said they are “certain that many reported drone sightings are, in fact, manned aircraft misidentified as drones.”
The FBI official also talked about how investigators overlaid the location of the drone sightings and found that “the density of reported sightings is consistent” with New York’s busy airports Newark Liberty International Airport, John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport.
An FAA official said there have “undoubtedly” been drones flying over New Jersey, noting that there are nearly a million drones registered in the United States.
Officials at Stewart International Airport in New Windsor, New York, about 60 miles north of New York City, said. they were forced to close the tracks for an hour on Friday night After the FAA reported a drone sighting in the area.
The Boston Police Department said Sunday that two men were arrested Saturday night after allegedly flying a drone “dangerously close to Logan International Airport.” A third suspect fled the scene in a boat and is being sought by police.
The incident, according to police, began Saturday afternoon when a Boston police officer specializing in real-time crime surveillance detected the drone flying near Logan International Airport. Using monitoring technology, officers were able to locate the drone’s altitude, flight history and the operator’s position in Boston Harbor on Long Island, where police found the suspects at a health care campus, officials said. The suspects ran, but police managed to catch two of them and continued to search for the third suspect on Sunday.
This image from a video provided by MartyA45_ shows what appear to be several drones flying over Randolph, NJ on December 4, 2024.
MartyA45_ /TMX via AP
The suspects, identified by the Boston Police Department as 42-year-old Robert Duffy and 32-year-old Jeremy Folcik, both of Massachusetts, were arrested on suspicion of trespassing.
New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said Sunday the federal government had agreed to deploy state-of-the-art drone detection systems in New York, but it was not immediately clear whether she and Schumer were talking about the same technology.
“In response to my calls for additional resources, our federal partners are deploying a state-of-the-art drone detection system in New York State,” Hochul said. “This system will empower state and federal law enforcement in their investigations. We are grateful to the Biden administration for their support, but ultimately, we need more support from Congress.”
Hochul said he is pressing Congress to pass the Anti-UAS Authority Safety, Security and Reauthorization Act, which would give “New York and our members the authority and resources necessary to respond to the situation we are facing today.”
At a joint Homeland Security subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, officials from the Justice Department, the FBI and Customs and Border Protection told lawmakers that current legal authorities are insufficient to combat drones.
Schumer said he would sponsor federal legislation to give the FAA and local agencies more oversight of drones and expand their detection methods.
Last week, Schumer, Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand of New York, and Sens. Cory Booker and Andy Kim of New Jersey sent a letter to the heads of the FBI, FAA and DHS asking for information on drone surveillance.
“We write with grave concern regarding the unmanned aerial system (UAS) activity that has impacted communities in New York and New Jersey over the past several days,” the letter stated.
ABC News’ Michelle Stoddart contributed to this report.
