FAA Bans Drone Flights Near 'Critical Infrastructure' in New Jersey
- Reference: 0175702719
- News link: https://news.slashdot.org/story/24/12/19/1723255/faa-bans-drone-flights-near-critical-infrastructure-in-new-jersey
- Source link:
> The ban began late on Wednesday and will continue through Jan. 17, according to an F.A.A. alert. The notification cited "special security reasons" for prohibiting flights in airspace near 22 New Jersey communities, including three of the state's largest cities, Camden, Elizabeth and Jersey City.
The F.A.A. said it had temporarily restricted drone flights over "critical New Jersey infrastructure" at the request of what it described as federal security partners.
[1] https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/19/nyregion/faa-bans-drone-flights-new-jersey.html
[2] https://yro.slashdot.org/story/24/12/13/214233/officials-demand-explanation-on-mysterious-drone-sightings
Re: (Score:2)
> Looks like the drones had the intended effect.
Right. The Pentagon brass is inept and needs to be replaced. On January 21.
Re: (Score:2)
It's almost certainly military testing and they have no interest in disclosing that it's even happening because it only tells anyone that might like to better understand the capabilities of the equipment being tested exactly where to look. This is obvious if you look at the answers that government officials have given. They can state truthfully that the drones aren't foreign and that they have noticed no anomalous occurrences because they know that it's our drones and they're doing whatever has been schedul
Re: (Score:3)
You're responding to a Chinese propagandist.
Re:biden administration is botching this (Score:4, Insightful)
It's almost certainly a complete nothingburger, a case of mass hysteria that even the media have bought into.
Here's just one article about it demonstrating how crazy even the media are on this: [1]https://www.theverge.com/2024/... [theverge.com]
This illustrates everything perfectly. The Verge is so desperate to believe in UFOs that it goes out of its way to NOT mention the main reason why there are no non-blurry pictures of these "UFOs". It instead goes into detail about the limitations of digital cameras and iPhones and whatnot.
The actual reason, of course, is that any pictures that have been taken that weren't vague and blurry were good enough that you could see what was being photographed, and they were all things that were perfectly normal for a New Jersey sky. Nobody is sharing the good photographs because... they aren't showing anything weird.
Remember, these are flying objects at night, but clearly visible because they have FAA standard blinking and solid lights. There are more of them near airports (you know, where planes circle waiting for permission to land.) People claim they're close, but all they can see are literally the lights, and have you ever judged the distances of, say, cars at night by their headlights? It's not a form of depth vision human eyes are particularly good at.
The entire thing is just silly.
[1] https://www.theverge.com/2024/12/18/24324347/new-jersey-drones-photos-phone-camera
Re: (Score:2)
> It's almost certainly military testing
Then there would be a NOTAM submitted. Or a piece of airspace restricted (which is done with a NOTAM). The military isn't shy about telling the public to beware or stay away without telling us why. What they really need to avoid is someone flying through the middle of these things with a Cessna and getting killed.
The military's inability to even formulate a bullshit explanation means they are as flummoxed as everyone else. Not good for the organization we expect to protect us. It's time some Air Force gene
Re: (Score:2)
With classified stuff, the correct answer is always negative: No, there is nothing to see here, move along.
Re: (Score:2)
80% of Nevada is federal land. [1]https://www.fox5vegas.com/2022... [fox5vegas.com]
Why interfere with civilian air traffic in Camden NJ?
[1] https://www.fox5vegas.com/2022/05/30/nevada-is-1-state-with-most-land-owned-by-federal-government/
Re: biden administration is botching this (Score:1)
Could just be pitted windshields: [1]https://www.seattlemet.com/new... [seattlemet.com] This happened back in 2020 too and it turned out to be Starlinks: [2]https://www.popsci.com/technol... [popsci.com]
[1] https://www.seattlemet.com/news-and-city-life/2020/04/what-pitted-seattle-s-glass
[2] https://www.popsci.com/technology/drone-mystery-conspiracy/
Why? (Score:3, Informative)
Why would they ban behavior for something that's not happening? I was told in very strong terms from my trustworthy federal government that they have no reports of unauthorized drones, there are no drones, drones aren't from foreign entities, and they don't know what the drones that don't exist are.
Re:Why? (Score:4, Interesting)
Clarification for the leaded gasoline era folks. The drones flying are not secret government drones. They're amateurs and other morons who think flying them near an airport to spot the so called secret drones looking for the lost nuke. You know the secret drones that mimic aircraft wing lights and suspiciously only fly at night because of the equipment that they carry can't operate with sunlight. That and the even less intelligent people shining laser pointers at airplanes they think are drones. I'll buy the lost nuke theory if anyone can name the special sensors that don't work with sunlight. Hell I know two people who walk and drive around with bluetooth scintillators and map radiation for shits and giggles. [1]https://raysid.com/ [raysid.com]
If you think everything is a secret government drone then that's all your going to see.
[1] https://raysid.com/
Re: (Score:3)
I'm not from the leaded gasoline era, there is no lost nuke, and the lost radiological material is the size of a pin and used for sensor calibration. The drones in question are a mix, but the ones showing anomalous behavior are not hobbyist drones. The government's responses indicate they're lying in one way or another.
Also if there was a radiological or WMD threat there are numerous organizations that have conventional ground-based teams that would've been activated a month ago, such as CBRNE, HMRTs, DHS V
Re: (Score:1)
Define "anomalous". After you have done that, make a case for why the said "anomalous" behavior cannot be ascribed to shitheads who have nothing better to do with their lives. After you have done that, please quantify the degree to which the drone activity over Jersey has increased in the last few weeks relative to the time segments before it.
If you cannot do ANY of the above, then you are simply fearmongering by spreading rumors.
Re: (Score:2)
The drones are reporetedly hovering for 6-8 hours at a time, and are coming in from over the ocean. At one point the government said it was coming from an Iranian mothership, but then said it wasn't. Shitheads with nothing better to do wouldn't be capable of doing any of that.
Again, the government's communication on this makes no sense. And your conjecture can be dismissed with even a most basic understanding of the situation. Therefore you don't have even a basic understanding of the sitaution, yet are att
Re: (Score:2)
Oh, so the imaginary ones that don't actually exist. Gotcha.
Re: (Score:2)
You sound like a conspriacy theorist, claiming, without evidence, that the words of Homeland Security Secretary Mayorkas and other government officials are lies or didn't happen. New Jersey assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia said the drones exist and are up to 6' in diameter.
So what gives you the confidence to engage in a conspiracy theory and say the drones don't exist, contrary to all evidence?
Re: (Score:2)
Post the link where the government claimed the drones were coming from an Iranian mothership.
Re: (Score:3)
> Post the link where the government claimed the drones were coming from an Iranian mothership.
The government never said this; it was some dipshit congress critter: [1]Mystery NJ drones are coming from Iranian mothership offshore, congressman suggests [nypost.com]
[1] https://nypost.com/2024/12/11/us-news/mystery-nj-drones-are-coming-from-iranian-mothership-offshore-congressman-claims-these-drones-should-be-shot-down/
Re: (Score:2)
"The government didn't say this, a representative of the government said it."
Congratulations. In other news, I'm not talking to you right now, you're reading pixels on a screen and imagining it in my voice, therefore I never actually said congratulations.
Re: (Score:3)
> The drones are reporetedly hovering for 6-8 hours at a time
Hovering for an entire workday and no one can use a spotting scope and a camera to get a clear picture?
Re: (Score:2)
Clear pictures are readily available. They mostly look like military drones, and the lighting patterns match some known models. Those drones can also fly for many hours, perhaps up to 6-8.
Re: (Score:3)
The lost nuke theory is stupid. countries have planes and satellites that would be able to cover much larger areas with better equipment.
Re: (Score:2)
Most of these so called drones are commercial and private aircraft. As for toy drones the faa already regulates them and requires them to broadcast an id which you can check on an app. If that's not working then I don't see how this ban will have any affect. It's really bizarre to watch them all fall all over this apparent mass hysteria. I guess it's an admission all these drone regulations are nothing but theatre.
Re: (Score:3)
It's the magic of conservative media. Take a "social" media nonevent that can be interpreted ambiguously and promote it full tilt through worthless pieces of shit like Fox News, Joe Rogan, and the entire parade of "conservative" morons looking for something to blame on fictional "liberals", and you arrive at the government having to mollify the provincial shitheads gathering around with their virtual torches and pitchforks.
Worse than tyranny of the minority, we are faced with tyranny of stupidity thanks t
Re: (Score:2)
That's a retarded theory, when the government is holding classified briefings over the drone activity.
Re: Why? (Score:2)
Prove it.
Re: (Score:2)
[1]https://www.perplexity.ai/sear... [perplexity.ai]
Did you know that if a boomer learns something without the TV telling him it, it's considered a bug, not a feature?
[1] https://www.perplexity.ai/search/is-the-government-holding-clas-2HjN_YOERpiseovEp6ZUTg
Re: (Score:3)
> Why would they ban behavior for something that's not happening?
This is a good meme with an audience and not surprisingly a bunch of people are hooking onto it to get attention. Some of those are politicians demanding "do something". The least damaging something to do is to hook on to the meme by banning behavior that isn't happening anyway. "There we didn't something. Satisfied?" The answer of course is no, not until the meme has run out of steam.
Re: (Score:3)
Well there clearly ARE drones. Also planes, stars, lens flares, etc. Since there's question for the public of who's flying them, it's causing people to create lots of weird theories.
The FAA can easily say "No drones for a bit while people chill" which should cut back on hobbyists or corporations flying (even if it's legally) and by the end of it people will moved on to the next thing to worry about
Time for ID-pings at night? (Score:1)
In the daytime, you can theoretically see the registration number. I say "theoretically" because "good luck with that" if the reg. number is on the back side or if the aircraft is moving quickly.
With tech getting cheaper and cheaper, perhaps it's time to require that night-flying aircraft either transmit their registration number and position or use their lights to indicate the registration number and position (say, by modulating the lights to encode this information).
This way, at least when people see the
Re: (Score:2)
If you know about 249g surely you know about RemoteID?
The issue is always that the people who follow the laws are never the problem.
There's no 249g SUV-sized drone on this planet.
They would all be transmitting RemoteID or ADSB if they were in compliance.
Re: (Score:3)
"There's no 249g SUV-sized drone on this planet."
It would have to be filled with Helium or Hydrogen.
Dog not Barking (Score:2)
Why haven't they followed these drones to see where they go after 11pm?
If the Feds are not lying through their teeth - which of course they are.
An F22 could easily get a lock on any prosaic craft and follow it.
They either can't or won't and both are cause for concern.
Re: (Score:1)
Or, and hear me out on this one. There is nothing going on besides the Fox News crowd getting riled up past their bedtime.
Re: (Score:2)
Get a life
Monster drone star, beware! (Score:2)
That ginormous drone masquerading as our sun had better watch out!
The FAA needs to talk to this guy (Score:1)
3D printed, thrust vector powered NGAD RC plane. He's perfected even further now. [1]https://www.youtube.com/watch?... [youtube.com]
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yumEMFQiid8
uh oh (Score:5, Funny)
The Orion constellation is gonna be pissed
Re: uh oh (Score:4, Funny)
Jupiter and Venus strongly objected to this directive and declared that they will ignore it, while Mars threatened that a war of the worlds appears to be inevitable.
Re: (Score:3)
And then, in a surprise move, Jupiter aligns with Mars, peace guides the planets, and love steers the stars.
Re: (Score:2)
I don't think slashdotters know what you mean. Could you give more details?