US President-elect Donald Trump has said that the US military should detail about the nature of drone sightings to American people amid a series of drone sightings being reported across the East Coast of the country.
“The government knows what is happening, for some reason, they don’t want to comment. And I think they’d be better off saying what it is our military knows and our president knows,” Trump said.
Trump, who was speaking at a press briefing in Palm Beach, Florida, was asked if he had received any intelligence briefings regarding the drone sightings but he declined to comment. The president-elect said, “I can’t imagine it’s the enemy,” Reuters reported.
FILE – In this image taken from video provided by MartyA45_, several drones appear to be flying over Randolph, N.J., on Wednesday, Dec. 4, 2024. (AP, File)
Pentagon spokesperson Major General Pat Ryder told reporters that the drones being spotted are not the US military ones as the army is limited by law when it comes to detecting and tracking drones within the territory of the United States, unless there seems to be a threat.
“Flying drones is not illegal. There are thousands of drones flown around the U.S. on a daily basis. So, as a result, it’s not that unusual to see drones in the sky, nor is it an indication of malicious activity or any public safety threat,” Ryder said.
This photo provided by Brian Glenn shows what appears to be multiple drones flying over Bernardsville, N.J. (AP)
A series of drone sightings began with New Jersey in November and now have been reported in at least six states, including New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Ohio.
“The same applies to drones flown near U.S. military installations. Some fly near or over our bases from time to time. That, in of itself, is not unusual, and the vast majority pose no physical threat to our forces or impact our operations,” Pentagons spokesperson Ryder further said as reported by Reuters.
President Joe Biden’s administration has said that it has not identified any national security or public safety risks or anything anomalous over the airspace in New Jersey, White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said on Monday.
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