Other drones were attributed to ‘individuals that enjoy flying drones,’ White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said. ‘This was not the enemy.’
The mystery drones first seen over New Jersey late last year were authorized to be flown by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) “for research and various other reasons,” White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said on Jan. 28.
During the first White House press briefing of the new administration, Leavitt said President Donald Trump had given her an update on the drones “after research and study.”
“The drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons,” Leavitt said.
“Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational, and private individuals that enjoy flying drones … In time, it got worse due to curiosity. This was not the enemy.”
Ground observers in New Jersey began reporting objects in the sky that appeared to be unmanned aerial systems (UAS) or drones last year. The sightings soon spread to other states, including Pennsylvania, New York, Maryland, Virginia, Massachusetts, California, Ohio, and Utah.
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At the time, the agencies said the reports were 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.” They denied any national security or public safety risk, stating that none of the reports appeared to be anomalous.
The FAA acknowledged the reports to The Epoch Times in December 2024, but directed further inquiries to the FBI.
Several aerospace experts, including two aviation consultants and an anonymous commercial pilot, told The Epoch Times in December that they believed some of the reported drones could be government-owned or directed.
“It could be a military operation, and I am leaning more toward that every day … or … it could be people out there just messing around, rather hobbyists,” the anonymous pilot said.
The two possibilities that seemed most likely to explain the origin of the mystery drones were a foreign actor or the U.S. government, said Michael Boyd, president and CEO of Boyd Group International, an aviation consulting and research firm.
“There have been various weaponry, fighters, and things like that, that they were flying for years testing before anybody even knew about them,” Boyd said. “The government is so big and so huge, anything is possible.”
Capt. Richard J. Levy, a former American Airlines pilot and lead consultant at Aviation Expert Consulting, said he also found the government theory most credible.
Because the federal government has not denied the reports while telling the public not to fear them “makes you wonder if it’s the U.S. government … testing new technology on drones,” Levy said.
“The people within the government who have spoken … not one person has voiced an opinion of fear or anxiety about it. So that is a red flag, in my opinion.”
Original News Source Link – Epoch Times
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