WASHINGTON, Dec 20 — US authorities yesterday announced drone flight restrictions in the northeastern state of New Jersey, where weeks of reported sightings of mysterious aircraft have sparked concerns locally and curiosity around the globe.
Federal officials have insisted there is no threat related to the sightings, but the repeated reports of unidentified drones have led to allegations of possible foreign involvement as well as accusations of a US government cover-up.
“At the request of federal security partners, the FAA published 22 Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) prohibiting drone flights over critical New Jersey infrastructure,” the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) said in a statement.
The drone flight restrictions are in effect until January 17, according to the FAA’s website, which did not provide an explanation for the timing.
The US Department of Homeland Security (DHS) said yesterday it still assesses “there is no public safety threat relating to the reported drone sightings.”
The FAA issued the temporary flight restrictions “out of an abundance of caution” after “critical infrastructure partners... requested temporary flight restrictions over their facilities,” DHS said in a statement, without identifying the facilities.
Earlier this week, the FAA, DHS, FBI and the Pentagon released a statement seeking to allay fears about the drones.
“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,” the joint 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,” it said.
Top US officials have previously rejected any suggestion of foreign involvement — including far-fetched claims that the drones originated from an Iranian or Chinese “mothership” out at sea — even as public concern has mounted.
But video footage of recent mysterious airborne phenomena continued to clog social media, with sightings reported in states including New York, New Jersey, Maryland and Virginia.
President-elect Donald Trump has said the US government “knows what is happening,” suggesting there is some sort of cover-up, but outgoing President Joe Biden’s administration has rejected such suggestions. — AFP
