President-elect Donald Trump has called out President Biden and the Pentagon, accusing them of withholding information about the mysterious drones that have been spotted hovering over New Jersey and New York. Trump’s concerns come as the sightings have left many wondering about the origin and purpose of these drones.

“The government knows what is happening. 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 said during a press conference in Palm Beach.

“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,” he added. 

However, Trump sidestepped a question about whether he’d personally received an intelligence briefing on the mysterious drones spotted over New Jersey and New York. When asked, he refused to comment, leaving many wondering if he’s been privy to any classified information about the drones. The president-elect also said that he doubted that the drones were the work of a foreign enemy.

“If it was the enemy they’d blast it out. Even if they were late, they’d blast it. Something strange is going on. For some reason, they don’t want to tell the people, and they should,” he said. 

Trump also recently mentioned that his golf course in Bedminster, New Jersey, was one of the locations where mysterious drones were spotted. Due to these sightings, he decided to cancel his upcoming trip to Bedminster.

In recent weeks, residents of New Jersey have reported numerous sightings of unidentified drones hovering over suburban neighbourhoods, industrial areas, and even sensitive locations. The unusual activity has sparked widespread speculation and concern and prompted lawmakers to demand the Biden administration explain what was behind the mysterious sightings. US officials have said that most of the sightings involve manned aircraft and that there is no evidence of any threat to public safety or national security. 

At a Pentagon briefing before Trump’s news conference began, Air Force Major General Pat Ryder, the Pentagon spokesman, told reporters there was “no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus.”

Meanwhile, White House spokesman John Kirby recently stated that despite using sophisticated electronic detection technologies, federal officials, along with state and local law enforcement authorities, have been unable to corroborate any of the reported visual drone sightings over New Jersey. Instead, many of these sightings have been attributed to the misidentification of regular aircraft, such as airliners and helicopters, as drones.

Washington:

US President-elect Donald Trump has called for the “shooting down” of the mystery drones that have been appearing in various parts of the country.

These drones were first spotted in New Jersey a few days ago and are now being seen in other areas as well.

The federal government and the White House have so far maintained that these do not pose any national security threat and nor there is any evidence of a foreign hand in it. The appearance of the mystery drones, however, continues to be the subject of investigation.

“Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge? I don’t think so,” Trump said on Friday in a post on Truth Social, a social media platform owned by him.

“Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!! DJT,” he said with his personal signature at the end of the post.

The White House on Thursday said there was no evidence yet that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat or that they have a foreign nexus.

The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are investigating these sightings, working closely with state and local law enforcement to provide resources, using numerous detection methods to better understand their origin, White House National Security Communications Advisor John Kirby told reporters.

He added that “… upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully.” “The United States Coast Guard is providing support to the State of New Jersey and has confirmed that there is no evidence of any foreign-based involvement from coastal vessels. And, importantly, there are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted airspace,” Kirby said.

In a joint statement, the Department of Homeland Security and FBI also said that there was no evidence yet that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.

“We are supporting local law enforcement in New Jersey with numerous detection methods but have not corroborated any of the reported visual sightings with electronic detection. To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully. There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted air space,” the statement read.

In a letter to the DHS, FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration, Senator Kirsten Gillibrand, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer and Senators Cory Booker and Andy Kim said that “since late November, communities in the New York City area and northern New Jersey have reported several incidents of unattributable drone sightings at night, alarming both residents and local law enforcement”.

They highlighted that “the potential safety and security risks posed by these drones in civilian areas is especially pertinent considering recent drone incursions at sensitive military sites in and outside of the continental United States over the past year”.

Congressman Josh Gottheimer from New Jersey on Friday urged federal law enforcement agencies, led by the FBI and DHS, to allow state and local law enforcement to deploy assets that can safely take down drones that “should not be in our skies”.

He wrote a letter to the FBI, DHS and the FAA, asking them to immediately brief the public.

“They also need to work closely with state and local law enforcement to give them the equipment they need to monitor drone activity. There is clearly too much of it here in Jersey and other parts of the country,” Gottheimer said.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Edgewater, United States:

A rash of unexplained drone sightings in the skies above New Jersey has left locals rattled and sent US officials scrambling for answers.

Breathless local news reports have amplified the anxious sky-gazing and wild speculation — interspersing blurry, dark clips from social media with irate locals calling for action.

For weeks now, the distinctive blinking lights and whirling rotors of large unmanned aerial vehicles have been spotted across the state west of New York.

But military brass, elected representatives and investigators have been unable to explain the recurring UFO phenomenon.

Sam Lugo, 23, who works in the Club Studio gym in New Jersey’s Bergen county, one of the corners of the state that has seen several drone sightings, called the reports “crazy”.

“It’s pretty concerning they were sighted… without explanation. It can be alarming,” he said.

Officials including the governor have called on people not to be alarmed but have not yet offered an explanation for the aerial activity.

“I’ve seen them every night since Thanksgiving, they’re smaller than my Jeep,” wrote X user Gus Seretis.

“They hover just about tree height or a little higher,” he added, describing them as like aircraft too small for a pilot and vowing to “shoot at one if it comes low enough”.

New Jersey congressman Chris Smith wrote to the Pentagon on Tuesday demanding answers.

“There have been numerous instances of unmanned aerial systems flying over New Jersey, including in close proximity to sensitive sites and critical infrastructure, to include military installations located in my district,” he wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.

‘Get abducted’ 

Smith said he had been told that more than a dozen drones pursued a coastguard lifeboat over the weekend.

The lawmaker then spent “hours” monitoring the night sky with the sheriff of Ocean County, the location of a number of sightings, according to his office.

The Pentagon, the nerve center of the US military, insists the objects are not “US military drones”.

“Our initial assessment is that this is not the work of a foreign adversary or a foreign entity,” said deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh.

Singh also rejected claims by Republican lawmaker Jeff Van Drew on Fox News that Washington’s foe Tehran was behind the spate of sightings.

“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,” she said.

New Jersey native Joseph Boutros, 21, said he had seen the reports of drone activity on social media. “But I’ve not seen them myself,” he said.

“It’s not something that worries me as long as they aren’t carrying weapons,” said the suited local as he collected takeout from a Bergen county strip mall as night fell.

In the cloudy skies above, the only aerial vehicles with flashing lights were passenger jets on approach to New Jersey’s Newark airport.

The FBI told AFP it was aware of the sightings “in multiple locations over the past several weeks” and said it was working with other agencies on the issue.

But the agency would not confirm reports of a crisis meeting between various government departments over the mounting concern.

Drones are permitted for both business applications and recreational use but are regulated by Federal Aviation Administration rules.

Witnesses stress that the unexplained aerial objects are larger than those commonly used by drone enthusiasts.

“I don’t want to get abducted or anything like that,” said Lugo with a smile.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)