The FAA has implemented temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) for drones in the airspace over 22 New Jersey cities amid a spate of reported mystery sightings on the U.S. East Coast.
The restrictions come days after the FAA, FBI, U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) released a joint statement reiterating that the reported drones pose no threat to public safety. Federal officials believe the sightings are a combination of fixed-wing aircraft, legal drones, helicopters, and even stars misidentified as unauthorized drones.
Within days of receiving initial reports of the drones last month, the FAA created TFRs around Picatinny Arsenal Military Base and President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in New Jersey “at the request of federal security partners,” the agency said.
The new restrictions, issued Wednesday and Thursday for “special security reasons,” were also created at the behest of federal partners, the FAA told FLYING. They note that the government may use “deadly force” if drones are deemed to pose an “imminent security threat.” A DHS spokesperson told FLYING the TFRs were requested by critical infrastructure partners to discourage drones from flying over their assets.
Neither agency linked the restrictions to the reports of mysterious aircraft.
“We continue to assess there is no public safety threat relating to the reported drone sightings,” DHS said in a statement. “In coordination with the FAA and our critical infrastructure partners who requested temporary flight restrictions over their facilities, out of an abundance of caution, the FAA has issued temporary flight restrictions over some critical infrastructure facilities in New Jersey.”
Though federal officials have repeatedly assured the public that the drones are nothing but a nuisance—and that many of the reported sightings are in fact crewed or other legally flying aircraft—state and local lawmakers have demanded more transparency into the investigation. Some have even called for the military to intervene and shoot down the drones.
New Jersey assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia last week pulled back the curtain on a briefing at New Jersey State Police headquarters that included more than 500 New Jersey mayors. According to Fantasia, DHS officials described to attendees drones that are about 6 feet wide, travel in small clusters, and can fly for up to eight hours.
Federal investigators, however, this week said that out of about 5,000 tips, fewer than 100 have been deemed worthy of further analysis. Officials did acknowledge that there have been a “limited number of visual sightings” of drones in restricted airspace over military bases in New Jersey and elsewhere but said those incidents are common.
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