Coast Guard personnel angry as federal officials raise questions over drone encounter

There are some very angry coast guardsmen at Barnegat Light, new Jersey,

Federal officials have dismissed claims by U.S. Coast Guard members that their 47-foot-long rescue ship was followed by a fleet of 12 to 30 drones while on patrol in the Atlantic Ocean earlier this month — and that those sailors Those who witnessed this incident are not pleased. Mystery Herd.

“This implication is outrageous,” said the Coast Guard member, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The implication is that we’re making sh-t up while the people making the sh-t are down in Washington, D.C.”

A few days later, the sailor spoke to The Post FAA imposes temporary flight restrictions In parts of New Jersey and New York. He said he was one of 12 crew members aboard the boat that night.

“We actually went there to see if we could see any drones, after all these views,” he explained. “Well, we found some drones. Or more accurately, they found us.”

drone It “appeared from somewhere at about 9 o’clock at night”, he said, and chased the boat for about 15 minutes. When the ship changed course, the drone also changed course.

“I’m terrible at measurements, but (the herd) was about 80 to 100 feet above us. They had four propellers. Seven feet across. Flashing lights, as you have seen. Festive green, red and white lights.

The drone swarm kept pace with the Department of Homeland Security ship, which was cruising at “about 20 knots, which is a little over 20 mph.”

The Guardian said the drones eventually climbed “perhaps 100 feet and above” and then “turned left towards the shoreline” and disappeared from sight.

“Commercial airplanes don’t operate like that,” he said. “I was out there (on the water) when the planes were coming in to land in New York, and trust me, you can tell the difference. We’re not idiots, we know what drones look and sound like.”

White House spokesman John Kirby recently rejected the Coast Guard’s claim of being followed by gangs of unmanned drones.

Kirby told reporters Monday that the drones hovering over the Garden State are a “combination” of personal, professional and government aircraft.

“Our assessment is that sightings to date include legitimate commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and even starships that have been mistaken for drones. Was reported in.” Kirby said.

Do you have drone footage of the skies over New Jersey or New York? Send it to The Post drones@nypost.com,

“We have not identified anything unusual or any national security or public safety risk over civil airspace in New Jersey or other states in the Northeast. The work continues,” Kirby added.

Kirby said the Coast Guard likely mistook the incoming aircraft for drones and said the government had forensically confirmed that drones were not involved in the encounter.

“Correct,” the Guardsman told The Post. “I can’t pretend to know what’s going on (with drone activity in the area), because I don’t. But they weren’t the type of drones you could buy at a store. These were government drones.”

“I don’t care what Kirby or (DHS chief Alejandro) Mayorkas says,” he added, “they’re full of sh-t.”

He said his orders were to observe, not to interact with any drone.

“But if (the drone swarm) fired at us or engaged us in any way, we would have retaliated,” he said.

Federal officials have faced opposition, including from local officials Representative Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Representative Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ), for the lack of concrete explanation for the sudden incident.

At the same time, federal officials have long said that drones pose no threat to national security.

more than 1,000 drones 18 have been spotted over New Jersey since November, while dozens more have been spotted in New York airspace.