A large number of mysterious drones has been reported flying over parts of the U.S., sparking speculation and concern over where they came from and why.
The FBI, the Homeland Security Department and other agencies have been investigating, but officials say there has been nothing so far to suggest that any drones have posed a national security or public safety threat. In fact, authorities say, many of the drone sightings have actually been legal drones, manned aircraft, helicopters and even stars.
Still, many questions remain.
Here's a look at what we know so far:
Where have mystery drone sightings been reported?
Dozens of witnesses have reported seeing drones across New Jersey since mid-November, including near the Picatinny Arsenal, a military research and manufacturing facility, and over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster.
New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy said Monday that drone-detection equipment supplied by the federal government has yielded little new information. He declined to describe the equipment except to say it was powerful and could even disable the drones, though he said that’s not legal on U.S. soil.
Murphy, a Democrat, urged Congress to give states more authority to deal with the drones.
Drone activity in the past week led to an hourlong closure of runways at New York’s Stewart International Airport, about 60 miles north of Manhattan, a four-hour closure of air space around Wright-Patterson Air Force Base near Dayton, Ohio, and the arrests of two men in Boston accused by police of flying a drone too close to Logan International Airport.
On Wednesday, the Federal Aviation Administration issued temporary flight restrictions for 22 New Jersey communities, including Burlington, Camden, Gloucester City, Winslow and more. The flight restrictions are set to remain in place through at least Jan. 17, 2025.
Feeling out of the loop? We'll catch you up on the Chicago news you need to know. Sign up for the weekly> Chicago Catch-Up newsletter.
Do the drones pose a threat?
The growing anxiety among some residents is not lost on the Biden administration, which has faced criticism from Trump for not dealing with the matter more aggressively.
Biden said Tuesday night that there appears to be nothing nefarious about the flying objects.
“There are a lot of drones authorized. We are following this closely. So far no sense of danger,” Biden said as he left the White House for a trip to Delaware.
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.
Despite federal officials' comments, many state and municipal lawmakers have nonetheless called for stricter rules about who can fly unmanned aircraft — and for the authority to shoot them out of the sky.
The House Intelligence Committee grilled federal law enforcement and intelligence officials about the drones during a closed-door meeting Tuesday, Democratic U.S. Rep. Jim Himes of Connecticut told CNN. Authorities told the panel there still is no evidence that drones are posing dangers, Himes said.
Meanwhile, the FBI and New Jersey state police warned 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.
Who is operating the drones?
Speculation has raged online, with some expressing concerns that 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. And 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 in New Jersey.
Officials urge action against the drones
Trump has said he believes the government knows more than it’s saying.
“Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!” he posted on Truth Social.
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.
“Nothing that I’m seeing, nothing that I’ve engaged in gives me any impression of that nature. But like, I get it, some people won’t believe me, right? Because that’s the level of distrust that we face," Kim said Monday.
Democratic Sen. Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut last week called for the drones to be “shot down."
How to tell the difference between a drone and a plane?
Experts who study unmanned aircraft systems say it can be tough to tell from miles away. But there are clues.
A light in the sky at night can easily be misinterpreted, according to John Slaughter, director of the Unmanned Aircraft Systems Research and Operations Center at the University of Maryland.
“You can’t just walk outside and say, ‘Oh, that’s not a drone,’ or ‘That is one.’ All you can really factually say is ‘I saw a light in the sky,’" Slaughter said.
Planes and helicopters all have a flashing lights and typically at least one red anti-collision light, often two. They also sport navigation lights, which are steady, red and green colored lights like the ones found on boats. Many will also have flashing white strobe lights at their wingtips. And they have bright landing lights.
Drones flying at night are only required to have one bright, anti-collision light that's visible 3 miles (5 kilometers) away. But drone owners can add other lights, so some have more than one. Drones are smaller, so when they have multiple lights they are close together, but at night it's often not possible to figure out precisely how far away they are.
Drones tend to be quieter and make a more high-pitched buzzing noise than what's generated by the jet engines or propellers that drive planes and helicopters. But bigger drones can be louder, and the sound may be difficult to discern from a distance.
Planes and even helicopters tend to move smoothly in the air, but multi-copter drones can stop on a dime, pivot 90 degrees and reverse course, Slaughter said.
“That kind of motion can give you a clue that you’re looking at a drone, not an aircraft," he said.
And the vast majority of drones will be operating below 400 feet (122 meters), following federal regulations.
