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Commentary

Mysterious Drone Story Doesn’t Add up

December 12, 2024

Dozens of car-sized drones have been spotted along the New Jersey seaboard, mystifying both the public and, apparently, the government. “We don’t know where they’re from. We don’t know who’s piloting them. We don’t know their intentions,” said Rep. Scott Perry (R-Pa.), who requested an official briefing on the drones that “didn’t inform me much more [than] what I already know from what we call ‘open-source reporting. … It’s really bad when those guys briefing you are kind of flipping through the pages of the newspaper, telling you what you already know.”

“We are able to track them,” Perry said on “Washington Watch.” “I’m sure they show up on radar. We can pick up birds and things like that on radar, so I’m sure they show up.”

However, “I don’t understand how they’re not being tracked to their final destination, and how they’re not being associated with some individual that is controlling them or individuals,” he added. “Either they don’t know that — and that’s incompetence — or they do know that, and they’re not telling us — and that’s something else.” Family Research Council President Tony Perkins restated the conclusion, “Either [they’re] totally incompetent, or [they’re] not telling the American people the truth.”

The most shocking aspect of the bizarre situation is that “even though they [government officials] don’t know where these car-sized drones are coming from, they say, ‘Well, there’s no threat, no reason to be worried,’” described Perkins. “How can they not know the origins [or] where they’re going and tell us that they’re not a threat?”

In fact, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-N.J.) recently suggested that “these drones could be the work of foreign adversaries, specifically Iran. Right now, we know that there are drones flying in from the direction of the ocean. We also know there is an Iranian drone mothership that is missing from port in Iran, with a timeline matching the emergence of these drones.”

Last month, The Wall Street Journal reported that the mysterious drones had swarmed Langley Air Force Base in Virginia for 17 days.

Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh contradicted Van Drew, saying, “There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there’s no so-called ‘mothership’ launching drones toward the United States.”

“I haven’t seen any evidence. That doesn’t mean it’s not true,” Perry responded. “If they don’t know the origin, if they don’t know who’s piloting them, how can they also be so sure to tell us that it’s not controlled by somebody from Iran? … How can they say that with any confidence? And why would we have any confidence in believing that? So, right now, I think it’s a wide-open conversation.”

Outrage at the Biden administration’s lazy handling of the drone mystery is bipartisan. “The Biden administration ought to be acting more aggressively against these drones that have been reported. If only to tell the American people who owns them, who’s flying them, what they are. The lack of information is absolutely unacceptable,” declared Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.).

Unfortunately, “the law doesn’t really provide for anybody to do much about it,” besides the federal government, he said. “Depending on the jurisdiction, local law enforcement doesn’t have any tools to combat it. And, if the FBI is not present there with the right equipment, [and] the FCC (the Federal Communications Commission), you can’t determine who’s flying it, where it’s from.”

In situations where a lethargic federal government is sitting on its duty, ordinary Americans are often quick to spring into action. Unfortunately, as far as these drones are concerned, Perry warned private citizens that their ability to respond is limited. “Your listeners and your viewers must know that it’s considered an aircraft, so you can’t shoot at it if it’s over your house, or that would be a federal crime,” he said.

Perry recommended that anyone who spots such a drone should call the police to alert them about its presence as soon as possible. “If you can, I would say get some pictures of it with your phone or anything else. If you can get photographic evidence and the timestamp on it, I think that would be helpful in determining what it is, who’s doing it, and where they’re using it.”

Joshua Arnold is a senior writer at The Washington Stand.



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