EDGEWATER: A spate of unidentified drone sightings in the skies over New Jersey has left locals scrambling and US officials scrambling for answers.
Breathless local news has fueled disturbing sky-sightings and wild speculation – blurry, dark clips from social media of angry locals demanding action.
For several weeks now, large unmanned aerial vehicles with distinctive flashing lights and hovering movements have been observed across the state in western New York.
But military brass, elected representatives and investigators have been unable to explain the recurring UFO phenomenon.
Sam Lugo, 23, who works out at a club studio gym in New Jersey’s Bergen County, one of the corners of the state that has seen several drone sightings, called the reports “crazy.”
“It is enough that they were seen … without explanation. It could be alarming,” he said.
Officials, including the governor, have urged people not to panic but have yet to offer an explanation for the aerial activity.
“I’ve seen them every night since Thanksgiving, they’re smaller than my Jeep,” wrote X user Gus Seretis.
“They hover about tree height or a little higher,” he added, describing them as planes too small to pilot and “shoot it down if it’s low enough.” .
New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith wrote a letter to the Pentagon on Tuesday demanding answers.
“There have been numerous instances of unmanned aerial systems flying over New Jersey, including near sensitive locations and critical infrastructure to include military installations located in my district,” he wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
‘get kidnapped’
Smith said he was told more than a dozen drones followed a Coast Guard lifeboat over the weekend.
The lawmaker then spent “hours” monitoring the night sky with the Ocean County sheriff, the site of many sightings, according to his office.
The Pentagon, the nerve center of the US military, insists the objects are not “US military drones”.
“Our initial assessment is that this is not the work of a foreign adversary or a foreign entity,” Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh said.
Singh also dismissed claims by Republican lawmaker Jeff Van Drew on Fox News that Washington’s adversary Tehran was behind the sighting.
“There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there is no so-called mothership launching drones toward the United States,” he said.
Joseph Boutros, 21, of New Jersey, said he had seen reports of drone activity on social media. “But I haven’t seen them myself,” he said.
“It’s not something that bothers me as long as they’re not carrying weapons,” said the suave local as he collected takeout from a Bergen County strip mall as night fell.
In the cloudy skies above, the only aircraft with flashing lights were passenger planes approaching Newark, New Jersey airport.
The FBI said AFP It was aware of the sightings “at multiple locations over the past several weeks” and said it was working with other agencies on the matter.
But the agency would not confirm reports of a crisis meeting between various government departments over growing concerns.
Drones are permitted for both business applications and recreational use but are regulated by Federal Aviation Administration rules.
Witnesses emphasize that the unidentified aerial objects are larger than those commonly used by drone enthusiasts.
“I don’t want to be kidnapped or anything like that,” Lugo said with a smile.