The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has announced a temporary drone ban in New Jersey, citing “special safety reasons.”
At least 22 cities in central and northern New Jersey are under the warning, which is in effect until at least January 17.
The Temporary Flight Restricted Areas (TFR) include parts of Camden, Gloucester City, Winslow Township, Evesham, Hancock’s Bridge in Lower Alloways Township in Salem County, Westampton, Burlington and Hamilton in Mercer County.
Flying drones are also banned in Bridgewater, Cedar Grove, North Brunswick, Metuchen, South Brunswick, Edison, Branchburg, Sewaren, Jersey City, Harrison, Elizabeth, Bayonne, Clifton and Kearny.
The FAA warned that “deadly force” could be used against drones that pose an “imminent security threat.”
Pilots who violate the restriction could be “intercepted, detained and interviewed by law enforcement officials.”
The ban comes a month after the first drone sightings in New Jersey, which began in mid-November near President-elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster Golf Course and the U.S. Army’s Picatinny Arsenal.
While residents and local officials have speculated that the drones are foreign adversaries, the White House has stated multiple times that it has “not identified anything abnormal or any risk to national security or public safety.”
National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday that people are misidentifying hobbyists, aircraft and even stars as drones.
He noted that the FBI had received tips about 5,000 drone sightings in recent weeks, 100 of which were deemed worthy of further investigation.
New Jersey residents in at least 22 municipalities are now banned by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) from flying drones, recreational or commercial. Each small red circle in the image above, placed by the FAA, represents a no-fly area over the state
“There are more than 1 million drones legally registered with the Federal Aviation Administration here in the United States, and there are thousands of commercial hobbyist and law enforcement drones legally in the air on any given day,” Kirby told reporters.
Kirby then pointed to the series of statements about what U.S. officials think is in the sky after reviewing the various tips — even saying that misidentified stars were part of the problem.
“We believe that the sightings to date include a combination of legal commercial drones, hobbyist drones and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters and even stars that were incorrectly reported as drones.”
“We have not identified anything abnormal or any risk to national security or public safety over civil airspace in New Jersey or other states in the Northeast. The work continues.’
“But I would like to reiterate that our assessment at this stage is that the activity involves commercial, hobbyist law enforcement drones, all operating lawfully and lawfully, and/or civil aviation aircraft,” he underlined.
Michael McCaul, R-Texas, made a bombshell claim Tuesday, saying some of the unidentified aircraft are “spy drones” from China.
The speculation came after it emerged that the communist state had acquired strategically located agricultural land next to military installations in the US.
“We want answers, but the answer I’m getting is we don’t know who the drones belong to,” McCaul said before executive branch officials offered a classified briefing to members of the House Intelligence Committee.
“I was with the NASA administrator, Bill Nelson, and he said these drones have been reported over military sites, military bases. I wouldn’t think they are friendly. “I would think this is hostile,” he added.
While misidentifications of conventional aircraft are widespread amid growing public panic, reports from U.S. military officials and local police have told similar stories of these car-sized “mystery drones” (examples above) over New Jersey and other U.S. states.
“I believe they are spy drones and that the People’s Republic of China and Communist China are very good at that. We know they bought land around military bases. This would be very consistent with their policies over the past few years,” he said.
Belleville Mayor Michael Melham, whose municipality was not included in the TFR, has become an outspoken critic, calling the federal response “disappointing to say the least.”
“More than 500 mayors were invited to an unprecedented mayors-only briefing on such an important topic,” Mayor Melham told the local network WABC last week.
“Many mayors from northern New Jersey traveled nearly three hours each way on short notice to be there,” he explained, “just to hear what could easily have been said on a Zoom call.” Many ran away.’
Journalist and author Michael Shellenberger, who testified before Congress last month about his reports on a hidden UFO data collection program, obtained a recording of the meeting, in which a NJ mayor complained about SUV-sized drones.
“The mayors are furious,” Shellenberger told Fox News. “One of them came over there and said, ‘There were two drones the size of a car hovering over my house.’
The FAA warns that drone pilots operating in restricted zones are at risk of being intercepted, detained and interrogated by law enforcement.
Administrative actions may also be taken, including civil penalties, suspension of certificates or revocation of their drone license, or even criminal prosecution.