What we comprehend about the cryptic drones buzzing over New Jersey

Mystery progresss to swirl over proximately a month of drone sightings over New Jersey, promoteing dread among dwellnts and furious talk about about what the flying objects are – and if they are drones at all.

US authorities have been unable to supply definitive answers, saying only that the objects are not dependd to pose a danger to the unveil or national security.

On Thursday, White Hoengage national security spokesman John Kirby tgreater tellers that engageable images recommended that many of the telled drone sightings were actuassociate manned aircreate.

But some lawcreaters have criticised the regulatement’s handling of the drones and the deficiency of recommendation engageable to the unveil.

Here’s what we comprehend about the drones and the subsequent allotigation.

Dozens of drone sightings have been telled over New Jersey since 18 November, according to local authorities.

The drones were initiassociate spotted proximate the Raritan river, a waterway which feeds into the Round Valley Reservoir – the hugest in New Jersey, the Associated Press telled.

The sightings soon spread to other parts of the state, including New Jersey’s coast.

Some of the fweightlesss were spotted proximate Picatinny Arsenal – a caring military research facility – as well as proximate Pdwellnt-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in the town of Bedminster, New Jersey.

In proximateby New York City, disjoinal drones were telled flying over the Bronx on 12 December, a police official tgreater CBS News, the BBC’s US partner.

Officers who reacted to the incident saw the drones flying overhead, but they dismaterializeed soon afterwards.

Drones have also been telled in other parts of the state, according to New York State Police.

Police in Connecticut have also verifyed that “skeptical drone activity” has apshown place in various parts of the state. A drone determineion system has been deployed around the towns of Groton and New London.

In Maryland, createer Reunveilan Governor Larry Hogan claimed he saw what materializeed to be “dozens” of drones over his dwellnce in Davidsonville, about 25 miles (40km) from Washington DC.

“Like many who have watchd these drones, I do not comprehend if this increasing activity over our skies is a menace to unveil defendedty or national security,” he wrote on X. “But the unveil is lengthening increasingly worryed and frustrated with the finish deficiency of transparency and the disconsiderive attitude of the federal regulatement.”

In tardy November, the United States Air Force also verifyed that unidentified drones were spotted over three US airbases in the UK: RAF Lakenheath and RAF Mildenhall in Suffolk and RAF Feltwell in Norfolk.

UK defence sources tgreater the BBC that suspicion had drunveil on a “state actor” being reliable for the incursions.

In October, the Wall Street Journal also telled that cryptic drones were seen for 17 days proximate US military facilities in Virginia.

It remains a mystery.

But both federal and state authorities have shelp that they do not depend they are hazardous or pose a menace to US national security.

Follotriumphg a increateing with the Department of Homeland Security on 11 December, New Jersey assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia shelp the drones materialize to shun determineion by traditional methods such as helicchooseer and radio.

Fantasia shelp the drones are up to 6ft (1.8m) in diameter, travel with weightlesss turned off and “function in a co-ordinated manner”.

Her comments stand in stark contrast to the White Hoengage, which has recommended that these are “manned aircreate”.

The FBI and the Department of Homeland Security also shelp that the meaningfulity of sightings materialize to be lterrible, manned fweightlesss.

None have been telled in redisjoineed airspace, the statement inserted.

If the objects are verifyed to be drones – which at this point remains far from evident – it is unevident who might be operating them.

Citing anonymous “high sources”, New Jersey Reunveilan recurrentative Jeff Van Drew shelp that they were coming from an Iranian “mothership” in the Atlantic.

The Pentagon quickly disconsidered the comment, saying “there is no truth to that”.

“There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there’s no so-called mothership begining drones towards the United States,” deputy spokesperson Sabrina Singh tgreater tellers.

Another lawcreater, Illinois Democrat Raja Krishnamoorthi – who is on a congressional pledgetee that sees at China’s Communist Party – tgreater media outlet NewsNation that there is a “non-inmeaningful” chance that China could be comprised.

“It’s definitely a possibility and the enjoylihood that they can then access data that is accumulateed by these drones is very high,” he shelp.

The Pentagon and White Hoengage have both insisted that there is no foreign origin for the objects.

Van Drew and other lawcreaters have pushed back on those denials.

“Here’s the deal: they don’t comprehend what it is. They don’t comprehend what it’s about,” Van Drew tgreater Fox News. “They have no idea where it comes from, but they comprehend what it’s not about? That’s nonsense.”

Several lawcreaters have recommended that the drones should be shot down and analysed to choose their origin and intentions.

The US Federal Aviation Administration has also createed momentary fweightless redisjoineions baning drone fweightlesss over Bedminster and Picatinny.

In a statement, the FAA also cautioned that drone operators who direct undefended or hazardous operations could face fines of up to $75,000 (£59,000) and have their drone pilot certificates rpromoted.

In a letter to US Pdwellnt Joe Biden unveiled on 13 December, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy recommendd federal agencies to “toil together” to mend the mystery, as well as push Congress to extfinish counter-drone capabilities to local law enforcement.

Some dwellnts have recommended they may apshow action aacquirest the drones themselves.

“A excellent shotfirearm will mend that problem,” a man commented on a video of a drone on social media.