New Jersey drones: US senator says mysterious devices seen in NJ should be ‘shot down if necessary’

NEW JERSEY — A US senator has called for mystery drones seen flying over sensitive areas in New Jersey and other parts of the mid-Atlantic region to be “shot down if necessary” as it remains unclear who owns them .

“We should do some very urgent intelligence analysis and take them out of the sky, especially if they fly over airports or military bases,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut said Thursday as concerns about the drones spread across Capitol Hill.

People in the New York region are also concerned that the drones may be sharing airspace with commercial airlines, he said.

The White House said Thursday that a review of the reported sightings shows that many of them are actually manned aircraft being flown legally.

In one case, a United flight was mistaken for a drone, and a video with millions of views on TikTok was actually a low-flying state police helicopter, according to flight records.

White House National Security spokesman John Kirby said no sightings had been reported in any restricted airspace. He said the U.S. Coast Guard has not detected any foreign involvement by coastal vessels.

“We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign connection,” Kirby said, echoing statements from the Pentagon and New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy. “If any information comes out that changes the characterization, my goodness, you know we’ll be the first to tell you.”

The drones appear to avoid detection by traditional methods such as helicopter and radio, according to a state lawmaker who was briefed Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security.

The FBI has been investigating and has asked residents to share videos, photos or other information about the drones. On Wednesday, Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh said they are not US military drones.

The number of sightings has increased in recent days, although officials say many of the objects seen may have been aircraft rather than drones. It is also possible that a single drone has been reported more than once.

The concern stems in part from the flying objects initially detected near the Picatinny Arsenal, a US military research and production facility; and above President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster.

Drones are legal in New Jersey for recreational and commercial use, but are subject to local and federal aviation authority regulations and flight restrictions. Operators must be FAA certified.

Most, but not all, of the drones seen in New Jersey were larger than those typically used by hobbyists.

Drone expert Mike Innella told Eyewitness News that the drones are very advanced — much more so than the small, three-pound commercial drone his company would use.

“Having the ability to go longer distances, be there longer, be able to keep up with weather conditions, that’s something that’s not your little RadioShack drone,” Inella said.

He also says that trying to shoot down the drones would be a bad idea.

“I would more try to find or identify where they’re coming from. But you don’t want to shoot down those kinds of drones. They’re way too big,” Innella said.

New Jersey Assemblyman Brian Bergen said Gov. Phil Murphy should consider using the National Guard to track or disrupt the drones.

“Let’s get some Army pilots up there who know what they’re doing and track these things where they land,” Bergen said.

Late. Cory Booker of New Jersey said he was frustrated by the lack of transparency, saying it could help spread fear or misinformation.

“We should know what’s going on above our skies,” he said Thursday.

Fantasia, a Republican from Morris County, was among several lawmakers who met with state police and Homeland Security officials to discuss the spate of sightings that span from the New York City area through New Jersey and west to parts of Pennsylvania, including over Philadelphia. It is currently unknown whether the sightings are related.

Two Jersey Shore Republican congressmen, U.S. Reps. Chris Smith and Jeff Van Drew, have also called on the military to shoot down the drones.

Smith said a U.S. Coast Guard commander briefed him on an incident over the weekend in which a dozen drones followed a motorized Coast Guard rescue boat “in close pursuit” near Barnegat Light and Island Beach State Park in Ocean County.

Coast Guard Lt. Luke Pinneo told The Associated Press on Wednesday, “several low-altitude aircraft were observed near one of our vessels near Island Beach State Park.”

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