Is the government coming clean about drone swarms over East Coast cities?

It happened over Alaska in 2023, when the U.S. military shot down a drone, believed to have come from China, over the hard ice of Prudhoe Bay, but never told the public anything further about what it had destroyed in the dead of winter. According to official statements, there was no recovery of the object or blown-apart pieces.

Now, the Biden Administration is not telling the public what it knows about the swarms of apparent drones that are spooking people by coming off the ocean and over neighborhoods in New Jersey, New York, and apparently elsewhere in the country.

Apparently, the government doesn’t know much and is not particularly concerned.

The Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation issued a joint statement about the drones that have lit up the sky — and social media — on Thursday:

“We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus. The FBI, DHS and our federal partners, in close coordination with the New Jersey State Police, continue to deploy personnel and technology to investigate this situation and confirm whether the reported drone flights are actually drones or are instead manned aircraft or otherwise inaccurate sightings,” the statement said.

“Historically, we have experienced cases of mistaken identity, where reported drones are, in fact, manned aircraft or facilities. 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 agencies said.

“We take seriously the threat that can be posed by unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), which is why law enforcement and other agencies continue to support New Jersey and investigate the reports. To be clear, they have uncovered no such malicious activity or intent at this stage. While there is no known malicious activity occurring in New Jersey, the reported sightings there do, however, highlight the insufficiency of current authorities,” the agencies said.

On Sunday a swarm of a dozen drones reportedly tailed a 47-foot U.S. Coast Guard vessel and 50 other drones were sighted flying into New Jersey from the ocean. 

New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy also said he doesn’t know if the drones pose a threat to the public.

Congressman Mark Green, who chairs the House Homeland Security Committee, said the drone activity must be taken seriously.

The committee’s Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence and Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security held a joint hearing Tuesday to examine the full scope of the homeland security threats posed by unauthorized, unmanned aircraft systems (UAS), or drones.

Keith Jones, deputy executive assistant commissioner of Customs and Border Protection’s Air and Marine Operations; Robert W. Wheeler Jr., assistant director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Critical Incident Response Group; and Brad Wiegmann, deputy assistant attorney general for national security at the Department of Justice all provided testimony.

“In the hearing, the DOJ and FBI witnesses left Congress and the American people with few answers on the mysterious sightings over New Jersey. However, it is clear that in the wrong hands, drone technology has the potential to negatively impact the essential mission of law enforcement agencies, disrupt our critical infrastructure or mass-spectator events such as NFL games, and even surveil sensitive U.S. military sites. This is especially true in the event that state and local law enforcement do not have the authorities needed to swiftly mitigate the threat. Earlier this year, the House Homeland Security, House Transportation and Infrastructure, and House Judiciary Committees introduced the bipartisan Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act of 2024, Congress’ strongest effort, to date, to build a counter-drone framework that will empower federal, state, and covered local law enforcement agencies to swiftly detect, track, and mitigate hostile drone use,” the subcommittee reported. Read more about that hearing here.

Rep. Chris Smith of New Jersey today said the Biden Administration is not coming clean.

“The Biden Administration continues to be dismissive of New Jersey residents who have witnessed these drones in swarms, including coming from the ocean, following a Coast Guard lifeboat, and flying over extremely sensitive military bases like Naval Weapons Station Earle in my congressional district. Some press reports—including one from the Daily Mail—cite intelligence experts who suggest Russia could be responsible,” Smith said.

“The American people and our trained local law enforcement officials have rightfully asked for real answers—not doublespeak from top Biden officials who still admit they do not know the origin or intent behind this unidentified drone activity. The Biden Administration has an obligation to the American people to figure out and tell us what is going on immediately. Their lack of decisive action and empty reassurances will only cause increased speculation and continue to escalate the valid concerns that so many people have,” Smith said.