New York, United States

US Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas said that the federal authorities “know of no foreign involvement” in the multiple drone sightings across the northeast region of the country.

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The multiple appearances of drone sightings continued to surge nonetheless in the northeast region of the country.

“I want to assure the American public that we are on it,” said Mayorkas. He appealed for “extended and expanded” authority to shoot down any unwanted drones. 

Also Read: New Jersey gets fed up with mysterious flying objects, goes on a drone hunt. Here's what it found

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New York Governor Kathy Hochul on Sunday (Dec 15) announced that the federal government was making preparations for the deployment of a high-tech drone detection system in the wake of a spate of drone sightings in Connecticut and New Jersey, where local and state officials have been demanding more assertive federal action while calling drones a “very considerable danger”.

Anxiety grows over drone sightings as govt struggles to find solution

Democrat US Senate majority leader Chuck Schumer proposed his name to the request made for drone detection technology. 

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Florida's Congressman Mike Waltz, who was chosen as the incoming national security adviser of the White House, said that the drone issue throws light on gaps in security between local law enforcement and federal agencies.

Speaking in CBS’s Face the Nation, he said, “Americans are finding it hard to believe we can’t figure out where these are coming from. From the defence department's standpoint, they’re focused on bombers and cruise missiles. It’s pointing to gaps in our capabilities and in our ability to clamp down on what’s going on here.”

Speaking to ABC News, the US domestic security chief said that there are “thousands of drones flown every day in the United States, recreational drones, commercial drones”. 

Watch: Donald Trump Demands Action On Mysterious Drone

In September 2023, he further pointed out that rules have been enacted by aviation regulators to allow drones to be flown at night, which has increased this activity.

US authorities have been trying to avoid vigilantes' responding to the drone invasion in New Jersey so that no bystander gets hit by the falling debris or some legitimate commercial aviation gets targeted in this fiasco.

“We want state and local authorities to also have the ability to counter drone activity under federal supervision,” said Mayorkas.

Mayorkas said some of the sightings were indeed drones, however, others were manned aircraft mistaken to be drones.

“There’s no question … people are seeing drones,” said Mayorkas. 

“And I want to assure the American public that we, in the federal government, have deployed additional resources, personnel, technology, to assist … in addressing the drone sightings," he added.

(With inputs from agencies)