A sudden spike in unidentified drone sightings in the northeastern United States is unnerving residents and lawmakers alike. Similar incidents have occurred for years, however, with little apparent action from the government.
Drone sighting reports in California, Maryland, Massachusetts, New York, New Jersey, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Utah, and Virginia over the past month have raised questions about the possibility that drones are being used to surveil or attack U.S. infrastructure.
The sightings follow several high-profile incidents in recent months, including at U.S. military facilities throughout the country and in the UK and Germany.
The White House has downplayed the incidents and denied that there is any evidence of a sustained threat to public safety.
“We have not identified anything anomalous or any national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the Northeast,” White House national security spokesperson John Kirby told reporters on Dec. 16.
Kirby did acknowledge that drones had penetrated restricted airspace, however, including that of the Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, and Picatinny Arsenal military research facility in New Jersey.
Although such sightings are currently receiving a lot of media attention, there have been several high-profile drone incidents in the past half-decade for which the federal government has yet to formally account.
Five years ago, for example, groups of large drones began appearing off the coast of California. They stalked and surveilled several Navy and Coast Guard ships, including the technologically advanced guided-missile destroyer USS Zumwalt.
The incident caused alarm throughout the military and incurred a joint investigation by elements of the U.S. Navy, Coast Guard, and FBI. Members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff and the commander of the Pacific Fleet were kept apprised of the situation.
No administration nor the Department of Defense has publicly stated what the drones were seeking to accomplish or who was operating them.
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