WHARTON, NJ – State government and federal officials have the same response to New Jersey residents who are increasingly concerned. Mysterious car-shaped drones spotted Over the Garden State Skies: Faggedboudit!
And that’s not cutting it anymore.
Frustration grew Wednesday when Pentagon and Trenton officials gave nonchalant answers to questions about the strange objects that have been filmed dozens of times across the state in recent weeks.
Upon sighting, a US lawmaker suggested that the drones could be Iranian spy planes and that the military should shoot them down immediately. Others have suggested that China was behind the close encounters near the turnpike.
“A lot of legislators were angry and there were soon to be angry mayors,” state Senator Doug Steinhardt (R) told The Post after lawmakers’ briefing with state police and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security.
“And a lot of American citizens are scratching their heads trying to figure out what they’re doing.”
authority – from FBI Governor Phil Murphy – continues to insist that drones pose no threat, but also claims he has no idea what drones are.
Officials acknowledged that the aircraft exhibits particularly sophisticated capabilities such as remaining undetected when pursued by police drones or helicopters.
They can hover in one place for hours – far longer than the battery life of known civilian unmanned aircraft.
A Post reporter also saw one on Wednesday as a Honda Fit-shaped object with flashing white lights passed by a gas station and headed toward the Picatinny Arsenal — a U.S. Army weapons research and manufacturing facility that lands in Wharton. Covers a part of.
Many suspect Picatinny may be the source of the drones — and the Army knows exactly what they are, but won’t say.
“I think the government knows what they are,” said Melissa Ann Pedersen, a 46-year-old mother and track coach.
“I think the Picatinny Arsenal is right here, I think that’s where it started.”
“He was one of the first people to complain about it. Picatinny Arsenal began to be noticed by the neighbors and then Picatinny Arsenal itself started complaining. I started hearing about them in November. The Picatinny Arsenal is not far from here. Not far at all.”
Pederson himself has seen several drones, including “giant” objects flying about 50 feet in the air and covered in red, green and white lights.
“I think we should have got an answer on this by now. We’ve had the technology to track this kind of thing for decades. What is happening with this?” He said.
Local officials told The Post they agree with that explanation — and suggest that many of the distant sightings could be either civilian imitators flying their own drones or people searching for UFOs in planes, helicopters or Forgetting the satellites.
The mystery took an unexpected turn on Wednesday when the U.S. Representative Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) when contacted by the Post, citing “highly credible” sources with “top security access” claiming the drones “could possibly” be Iranian technology deployed from “motherships” deployed on the East Coast They went.
“These drones must be shot down,” he explosively told Fox News, “with the military on full alert.”
But within hours the Pentagon rejected Van Drew’s claims, insisting there was “no evidence” the drones belonged to a foreign adversary.
“There are no Iranian ships off the coast of the United States, and there is no so-called mothership launching drones toward the United States,” a representative told reporters — again without providing any information on what they might be. Moved on to other topics.
The lack of interest or insight has baffled many – including those with the highest reaches of New Jersey law enforcement.
“We’re all confused as to what the f—k is going on,” a high-ranking New Jersey police source told The Post.
“No one seems to be that concerned.”
“Nothing like this happened in my time where nobody knew what was going on.”
The lack of a coordinated response from federal agencies charged with protecting U.S. skies and territory is also troubling, the official said.
After meeting with lawmakers in Trenton on Wednesday, Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia explained in an X-Post the scope of the situation and the bureaucratic gridlock that has prevented local officials from addressing it.
These sightings began around 18 November, after which such incidents were recorded every night and continued till dawn.
According to Fantasia, some nights saw over 180 viewings.
Officials say the drones are typically at least six feet in diameter, and range up to 15 miles while staying in the air for up to seven hours.
He said state officials have been left “hostages” and unable to stop the drones because they fall under federal jurisdiction.
And while the FBI is leading the investigation, DHS is possibly assisting with the help of the Coast Guard — but Fantasia said that federal jurisdiction also seemed “shrouded in mystery” during the briefing.
“We don’t know anything. Duration. To say there is no known or credible threat is incredibly misleading,” Fantasia wrote.
Meanwhile, the FBI continues to claim they have no idea where the drones are coming from, while insisting there is no threat.
Steinhart, a NJ state senator, said the lack of warning from federal agencies — and their apparent lack of ability to do anything about drones — made him feel uneasy after the briefing.
“They keep repeating, ‘There’s no threat,’ but they can’t find them and can’t track them,” Steinhardt said.
“We’re hearing from Homeland Security that they don’t have the technology to detect them, track them, disable them or disarm them.”
“When people are saying there is no credible threat, I believe they are saying they don’t know if there is a threat. It’s worrying,” he said, explaining that he wanted to believe authorities’ claims that they didn’t know what was going on.
“If anyone really knows they are not telling us. I believe (State Police Colonel Patrick Callahan). His view is that if it had been any other government agency they would have shared that information with them. And I want to believe that’s true, but…” he said.
Van Drew, who represents the Jersey Shore in the U.S. House, has stood by his statements regarding Iran, and even sent a letter to President Biden urging him to take action, And have presented “circumstantial evidence” to support their claims.
“We have information that a sea-based Iranian drone mothership is currently missing from port, and the timeline of its launch would align with the appearance of the New Jersey drone,” he wrote in the letter obtained by The Post.
He said Iran has previously sent ships to the US, and the country has a “sophisticated” partnership with China on drone technology, including recent sales of the technology.
“And of course, it is the policy of the Iranian government to destroy the United States. “While I am open to alternative explanations, I have not been presented with a single credible, coherent narrative except that Iran is controlling these drones,” Van Drew wrote.
-Additional reporting by Dana Kennedy
(TagstoTranslate)US News(T)Metro(T)Conspiracy Theories(T)Drones(T)Iran(T)Military(T)New Jersey(T)UFOS
