US Drone Sightings Provoke Reactions From New Jersey Legislature, Federal Government (apnews.com)
- Reference: 0175725243
- News link: https://tech.slashdot.org/story/24/12/21/1935235/us-drone-sightings-provoke-reactions-from-new-jersey-legislature-federal-government
- Source link: https://apnews.com/article/drones-new-jersey-what-to-know-e6f565f5d51d9d47ad140e7e7d131842
> Meanwhile, federal and local authorities are warning against pointing lasers at suspected drones, because aircraft pilots are being hit in the eyes more often. Authorities also said they are concerned people might fire weapons at manned aircraft that they have mistaken for drones...
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> White House national security spokesperson John Kirby said Monday that the federal government has yet to identify any public safety or national security risks. "There are more than 1 million drones that are lawfully registered with the Federal Aviation Administration here in the United States," Kirby said. "And there are thousands of commercial, hobbyist and law enforcement drones that are lawfully in the sky on any given day. That is the ecosystem that we are dealing with." The federal government has deployed personnel and advanced technology to investigate the reports in New Jersey and other states, and is evaluating each tip reported by citizens, he said. About 100 of the more than 5,000 drone sightings reported to the FBI in recent weeks were deemed credible enough to warrant more investigation, according to a joint statement by the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Federal Aviation Administration and Department of Defense.
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> Speculation has raged online, with some expressing concerns the drones could be part of a nefarious plot by foreign agents or clandestine operations by the U.S. government. Pentagon spokesperson Maj. Gen. Pat Ryder said it's unlikely the drones are engaged in intelligence gathering, given how loud and bright they are. He repeated Tuesday that the drones being reported are not being operated by the Department of Defense. Asked whether military contractors might be operating drones in the New Jersey area, Ryder rebuffed the notion, saying there are "no military operations, no military drone or experiment operations in this corridor." Ryder said additional drone-detecting technology was being moved to some military installations, including the Picatinny Arsenal...
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> U.S. Sen. Andy Kim, a New Jersey Democrat, said he has heard nothing to support the notion that the government is hiding anything. He said a lack of faith in institutions is playing a key part in the saga.
[1] https://apnews.com/article/drones-new-jersey-what-to-know-e6f565f5d51d9d47ad140e7e7d131842
Total mystery... (Score:3)
Bruce Simpson from my country of New Zealand did a great video earlier on in the week on this.
There's some comparisons of some of the images and other common objects in the sky.
[1]https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=... [youtube.com]
[1] https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=jSqdmnWl43o
Press-fed mass hysteria (Score:1)
But if you really want to 'do something' and have a hope of it working... mandate government-supplied encrypted transponders on anything over 300g and let the cops bring down whatever doesn't have a transponder using a jammer. If it's too big (or has shielded auto-nav) for that, hand it off to the military. Or hell, fill it full of lead if you aren't worried about where the shrapnel and bullets will land.
The trick is to make the response less expensive than the problem. Eventually the people flying unlic
Re: (Score:2)
> let the cops bring down whatever doesn't have a transponder using a jammer. If it's too big (or has shielded auto-nav) for that, hand it off to the military. Or hell, fill it full of lead if you aren't worried about where the shrapnel and bullets will land.
You should be more worried about what the drone crashes into when you shoot it down. That shit is gonna hurt when it hits you, or your car, or your house... plus the fire from the punctured batteries.
Re: (Score:2)
> You should be more worried about what the drone crashes into when you shoot it down
Yep. I thought that adequately covered with, "if you aren't worried about where the shrapnel and bullets will land".
Non-military drones typically have a 'safe auto-descent' mode if they lose their control source, so if they're not fully autonomous they'll either attempt to return to their point of origin or slowly descend until they land wherever they are if you're jamming them.
Re: (Score:2)
yes, you did say it, but...I thought it was big enough deal to be specific for the less thoughtful readers among us.
When you shoot a done, it is not going to perform a safe descent, its gonna crash and burn. Same if the military hits it with a directed energy weapon and fries its electronics.
We will not be ignored! (Score:3)
New Jersey legislators passed a bill demanding they be taken seriously, and that everyone needs to stop pointing and laughing at them!
Grovers Mill (Score:2)
Says hold my beer.
Re: (Score:2)
That is so last month.
Duh! (Score:4, Funny)
When will these thick-headed politicians get it through their heads that these weren't drones -- just regularly scheduled commercial aircraft flights at night.
Seriously, what they're doing is somewhat akin to banning pedestrians because cars are crashing on the freeway.
Let me repeat:
Drones are not the problem -- idiots who can't tell the difference between a drone and a freaking airliner are the problem!
I live on the other side of the world from the USA but I pointed out *exactly* what was going on long before the penny finally dropped in the USAA.
[1]New Jersy Drone Mystery Solved [youtube.com] (from December 10th).
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jSqdmnWl43o
Re: (Score:2)
Most of the (low resolution shit) footage I've seen on the news is obviously either airliners or general aviation aircraft. Some of it is so ridiculously obvious as to be laughable. I turned on Fox News the other day and Laura Ingram was looping footage while interviewing some so-called expert about the "drone crisis." 100% of the shots they were showing were aircraft obviously coming in for landing. They had nav lights, strobes, and landing lights on. One of them clearly even had its gear already down.
This
Re: (Score:2)
> Drones are not the problem -- idiots who can't tell the difference between a drone and a freaking airliner are the problem!
Well, if THAT is what's happening I fully support anyone making such a report - or a reporter relaying it when the evidence is clear - having "STUPID" forcibly tattooed on their forehead as a warning to everyone they talk to from that day forward.
And maybe 'MORON' high on their cheeks in case they take to wearing a hat or headband.
our paranoid society (Score:2)
There's nothing there.. we'll yes, there are drones, but so what. The fact the feds don't care means they know what they are and there's no threat. Media and reichwingers need to stop imagining conspiracies and foreigners out to get us under every rock.
National Guard (Score:2)
Interposition is the controlling doctrine and the NJ Governor ought to grow a pair and utilize his Air National Guard.
But he's who he is so he won't.
And some plurality of the population voted for a leader like that.
Mike West on Youtube ... (Score:2)
Most of them are just airplanes.
One video an elected official posted are the stars of the Orion constellation.
And so on and on ...
Check out what Mike West [1]posted on the drone situation [youtube.com].
For those not familiar with Mike, he often does detailed debunking of UFO/UAP claims, and provide evidence to why it is most likely this or that (balloons, stars, airplanes, ...).
[1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZK4HFxzsjgo
Mass hysteria (Score:2)
I never really believed in the concept of mass hysteria until everything in the sky with strobes and landing lights became a "drone".
Large drones must broadcast radio beacons (Score:2)
and there are apps for phones that will receive those beacons and show you where the operator is. These drones are apparently not sending those radio beacons, which means they are operating illegally. A lot of credible people say they are drones; police, politicians. The feds say they are sending drone detection equipment; they don't trust their own trained observers (military people) who could just go outside and look? The sightings are causing people to shine lasers at airplanes, causing airports to t
We need to look into... (Score:2)
why politicians are suddenly all excited about this issue. Seems like the shiny distracting object could be a UFO or (more likely to me) misdirection.
Re: (Score:2)
A lot of politics these days is placating the mob with stupid stuff so they'll support everything else. If evil mind-control drones serve your needs, that's what you're going to push in the media.
Re: (Score:3)
And some are well identified. Legislator held up a picture of Orion as an example of the drones he saw.