Washington DC, United States

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The White House on Friday (Dec 13) said that the United States (US) administration had no evidence that the recent drone sightings in the US state of New Jersey posed a national security or a public safety threat.

Addressing a press conference, National Security Spokesperson John Kirby said, "We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat or have a foreign nexus."

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Kirby said that the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) were investigating the sightings, "and they're working closely with state and local law enforcement to provide resources using numerous detection methods to better understand their origin."

'Reported sightings were manned aircraft that operated lawfully'

Citing a review of available imagery (of the drone sightings), Kirby told reporters it appeared that many of the reported sightings were manned aircraft which were being operated lawfully. 

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"The United States Coast Guard is providing support to the state of New Jersey and has confirmed that there is no evidence of any foreign-based involvement from coastal vessels. And importantly, there are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted airspace," he added.

"That said, we certainly take seriously the threat that can be posed by unmanned aircraft systems, which is why law enforcement and other agencies continue to support New Jersey and investigate the reports, even though they have uncovered no malicious activity or intent at this particular stage. While there is no known malicious activity occurring, the reported sightings there do, however, highlight a gap in authorities," the National Security spokesperson further said. 

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Kirby also urged Congress to pass important legislation that would extend and expand existing counter-drone authorities so that the government would be prepared to identify and mitigate any potential threats to airports or other critical infrastructure.

A look at the recent sightings

Drones have been reported flying over parts of New Jersey in recent weeks, starting in November.

A report by the news agency Reuters on Thursday said that the US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) began receiving reports of drone activity near Morris County, New Jersey on November 18.

Last week, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and New Jersey State Police asked the public to report any information related to the recent sightings of possible drones flying in several areas along the Raritan River.

The Pentagon said an initial assessment had shown the drones were not from another country and that the US military had not shot them down because they did not pose a threat to any military installations.

(With inputs from agencies)