New Jersey authorities have insisted that there have been sightings of SUV-sized drones in recent weeks do not pose a threat to public safety, but military analysts say the lack of clear answers from the government points to a larger problem.
These large drones have been spotted flying over the Garden State’s airspace with smaller, faster-maneuvering drones, which resemble so-called “drone motherships” that have been deployed in Ukraine, Russia and China, according to Fox News contributor Brett Velicovich. The motherships launch smaller drones, which do not have the necessary remote antennas to carry them over greater distances. According to Velicovich, this suggests that a foreign opponent could be at play in New Jersey.
The sightings in Jersey resemble SPV drones, which Ukraine uses to carry out about 70 to 80% of attacks on the front lines, Velicovich said. RPG weapons such as mortars or grenades are attached to the fast-moving SPV drones.
“It doesn’t matter if the drone doesn’t have a bomb to explode. The damage these things can cause from a collection perspective could set countries back years,” said Velicovich, a former special operations intelligence analyst and drone expert. told Fox News Digital. He explained that drones can be equipped with various sensors to detect mobile phone coverage, pick up IP addresses and different frequencies in the air and nuclear radiation.
Mysterious drone sightings continue to be reported in New Jersey with no answers
Drone sighting map of New Jersey (Fox & Friends/Screen Recording)
“All the drones would simply have to fly over that sensitive location, and they could collect information that could be immediately relayed back to a foreign adversary,” Velicovich said.” I mean, it’s sent via satellite communications. It will be returned very quickly. And honestly, the damage has already been done.”
New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who has held briefings in recent days with officials from Homeland Security, the FBI, the Secret Service and state police, told Fox News on Monday that he has seen no evidence of any concern about public safety.
Murphy has described the drones spotted in New Jersey as “highly sophisticated” in nature, telling reporters that “as soon as you spot them, they go dark.” The governor acknowledged concerns Monday about sensitive targets and critical infrastructure. One of newly elected President Trump’s homes, as well as military and utility facilities, are located in the state.
Murphy said 49 sightings were reported on Sunday evening alone, and while that may be an exaggeration, “it’s really frustrating that we don’t have more answers about where they’re coming from and why they’re doing what they’re doing.” doing.”
“It’s a non-zero number. I was working on the White House and Homeland Security leadership literally at the top yesterday, pretty much all day, I hope we get answers sooner rather than later,” Murphy said.” I would ask people to continue to let the FBI or their local law enforcement know when they see something, and we will continue to do everything we can, together with our federal partners, to get clearer answers.”
Velicovich argued that officials, including at DHS, the FBI and the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), “have no idea what it would take to actually defend against real drone threats against the United States.”
“If they’ve already flown over these sensitive locations and can collect this information, then we have a bigger problem. And I think there’s a lack of awareness among government officials about exactly what drone technology is capable of,” he said. . “And so if this is a foreign adversary, I kind of compare it to the Chinese spy balloon where you’ve had this stuff lying around for a long time, just listening, gathering data, gathering information. And the reality is that we won’t really know what it collects until it’s too late.”
While the origins of the drone sightings have not yet been determined, and the work of foreign adversaries remains a possibility, Ken Gray, a former FBI agent and military drone expert, told Fox News Digital that they could also be the result of a utility company that uses drones. To check their power lines for fraying, the Forest Service may check trees for nocturnal pests or possible agricultural activities.
The drone was spotted over North Jersey on Tuesday. (Nicholas Lordi)
More research is needed, but Gray argued that the size of the plane spotted in the New Jersey skies indicates it’s likely not hobbyists behind them.
“You can’t just shoot down a drone because you don’t know its origins. And so it’s a good thing that no one has shot one down,” Gray said. “That would be a pretty risky move at this point. Instead, you need to identify where it’s coming from and where it’s being sourced from and figure out who’s controlling that.”
New Jersey is on the East Coast, as is Langley Air Force Base in Virginia, where seventeen unmanned vehicles entered restricted airspace last December. The Pentagon this week announced a new counter-drone strategy following the wave of drone incursions near US bases, including in the United Kingdom, but did not cite the ongoing FBI-led investigation into what is happening in New Jersey.
Velicovich and Gray both argued that drone production outsourced to China poses a national security risk.
Because most drones are manufactured by Chinese technology company DJI, Gray said there are concerns that the data or images collected could be sent back to China as surveillance.
Gray pointed to the Ukrainian military’s successful use of what were once “hobbyist” drones as weapons platforms to fly at and effectively blow up Russian armed vehicles, and said there is also a real danger of this technology spreading domestically will expand.
“As far as local law enforcement is concerned, local law enforcement does not have the capabilities to address the threat of a drone if it were to be used as a weapon system at this time,” Gray said. “Most police departments prefer to rely on a shotgun to take it down, as opposed to any other weapon system.”
The U.S. Secret Service does have anti-drone capabilities, as does the U.S. Navy, but most local law enforcement does not, Gray said.
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Despite having the technology, the Secret Service did not have their counter-drone systems operational in the lead-up to Trump’s July 13 assassination attempt, Velicovich said, arguing that authorities have a lot of catching up to do.
“The writing on the wall is that drone technology can be used incorrectly and be very harmful to us, and we still need to secure the right funding and bring in the real experts who deal with this every day. you know, at our level of government,” Velicovich said. “Were years behind China. We are years behind Russia. Many other countries see how valuable that technology is.”
