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NEW: Governor issues statement on Virginia ‘drone’ sightings
December 14, 2024 at 7:30PM
Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin has issued a statement amid reports of drone sightings around Northern Virginia and elsewhere.
The governor says his office is aware of “multiple sightings of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles” and state agencies have been coordinating with law enforcement in response.
Youngkin added that he’s “deeply concerned” with a lack of information from federal authorities.
The full statement, issued Saturday afternoon, is below:
RICHMOND, VA – Governor Glenn Youngkin issued the following update after multiple sightings of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs), commonly known as drones, were reported in and around the Commonwealth:
“The Commonwealth of Virginia is home to a significant number of national security and critical infrastructure sites upon which our nation depends each and every day.
I remain deeply concerned that Virginia has consistently sought information from federal partners, and to date, the information shared with the Commonwealth has been insufficient,” said Governor Glenn Youngkin.
“The Virginia State Police Homeland Security Division and Virginia Department of Emergency Management continue to closely coordinate through our Fusion Center with the greater law enforcement and first responder community regarding drone activity in the Commonwealth.
We will continue to engage with numerous federal partners and release further information as it becomes known and available.”
The public at-large can continue to assist the Commonwealth by reporting observations to the Virginia Fusion Center at VFC@vfc.vsp.virginia.gov or (877)4VA-TIPS.
Please do not attempt to interfere with UAVs by utilizing personally owned drones or any other airborne craft or attempting to capture the suspected drone/aircraft individually.
Many of the supposed drone sightings have been outside of the immediate D.C. area and inner suburbs like Arlington.
NBC 4 last night reported on sightings over Fairfax, while noting that unauthorized drone flights are prohibited in the 14-mile no-fly zone around the Capitol.
The rash of drone sightings follows widespread reports of possible drones spotted over New Jersey.
But like many of the videos from New Jersey, at least some of the Northern Virginia videos seen by ARLnow on social networks like X (formerly Twitter) appear to show commercial jetliners, not drones.
Still, many of those posting videos (and replying with their own sighting stories) insist that what they saw were flying low and “definitely not airplanes.”
So far ARLnow is not aware of any recent, credible reports of unidentified drones over Arlington.
A Dominion Hills resident posted about a drone sighting on the social network Nextdoor three days ago — but later said it turned out to be a police drone that was being used for an investigation in Fairfax County.
https://www.arlnow.com/2024/12/14/new-governor-issues-statement-on-virginia-drone-sightings/
https://www.governor.virginia.gov/newsroom/news-releases/2024/december/name-1037663-en.html
Joint Staff Addresses Drones Over New Jersey Military Installations
Dec. 14, 2024
During an on-background telephone call today, officials from the Federal Bureau of Investigation, Department of Homeland Security, Federal Aviation Administration and the Joint Staff provided comment and answered questions from reporters about the drone sightings.
A spokesperson from the Joint Staff acknowledged that there had been sightings of drones over two military installations in New Jersey, but said such sightings are typical.
"We have had confirmed sightings at Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Weapons Station Earle," the spokesperson said.
"This is not a new issue for us. We've had to deal with drone incursions over our bases for quite a time now. It's something that we routinely respond to in each and every case when reporting is cited."
The spokesperson said military installations have means to detect and respond to such drones, and that security personnel are trained to identify, categorize and employ those tools to keep drones from flying unauthorized over U.S. military bases.
Right now, the FBI, DHS, FAA and DOD have been unable to determine who is responsible for flying the drones, and there's no indication that there are adversary nations involved.
"To date, we have no intelligence or observations that would indicate that they were aligned with a foreign actor or that they had malicious intent," the spokesperson said. "But … we don't know.
We have not been able to locate or identify the operators or the points of origin."
The spokesperson said that the military has "limited authorities" when it comes to conducting investigations off of military installations in the United States, and is also prohibited from conducting intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance operations in the United States which might be used to determine the origins of who might be flying the drones.
But the spokesperson also said those military installations have good relations with local law enforcement, who can conduct investigations off the installation.
"We have to coordinate with law enforcement to try to do that, which we are doing," the spokesperson said. "And we do that on a routine basis at nearly all of our locations.
We have good relationships and excellent coordination, and we respond quickly to try to identify them." The spokesperson also said the department is frustrated with the appearance of the drones.
"The main point is to deter the activity using some of our electronic means that can respond to most of these small commercial systems and deny them access to the airspace over our bases," the spokesperson said.
"We don't know what the activity is. We don't know … if it is criminal. But I will tell you that it is irresponsible. Here on the military side, we are just as frustrated with the irresponsible nature of this activity."
https://www.defense.gov/News/News-Stories/Article/Article/4002374/joint-staff-addresses-drones-over-new-jersey-military-installations/
Mysterious drone sighting over Panama City
Updated: Dec 14, 2024 / 10:09 PM CST
A mysterious drone with illuminating colorful lights was spotted over Panama City on Saturday night.
A Panama City resident saw the object over their residence near Tyndall Air Force Base.
States across the U.S. have noticed similar sightings recently in areas of New York, New Jersey, and now here in the Florida Panhandle.
These sightings have raised concerns from top officials in several states and they are calling for action from the Federal Aviation Administration.
https://www.mypanhandle.com/news/local-news/bay-county/panama-city/mysterious-drone-sighting-over-panama-city/
Ocean County Sheriff's office launches its own drones to investigate mysterious sightings
Updated on: December 14, 2024 / 10:18 PM EST
On Saturday in Seaside Heights, New Jersey, there were drones residents were likely happy to see.
They're part of a new patrol unit within the Ocean County Sheriff's Office. At their command center, deputies were monitoring drone activity, putting their own in the sky to get a closer look at the mysterious flying objects.
It comes amid reports of drone sightings in the area, including a deputy witnessing dozens fly in from the ocean.
"She reports that she saw 50 drones coming from the ocean to the mainland traversing the airways over Island Beach State Park," said Sheriff Michael Mastronardy with the Ocean County Sheriff's Office.
The Seaside Heights command center was also the site of a press conference where New Jersey Congressman Chris Smith unveiled new federal legislation he plans to introduce in Congress.
"It will most of all allow the state police to have the same type of capability as the Department of Defense and Homeland Security that if necessary to down one of these unmanned drones," Smith said.
Multiple sightings of drones have been reported in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and four other states since mid-November.
Many of them spotted over homes, highways and even military bases.
The White House has stated the drones do not appear to pose a threat to public safety or national security. That response is frustrating officials who are demanding answers.
"These issues are very, very concerning and the response from the federal government is very, very insulting," said John Peterson Jr., Mayor of the Borough of Seaside Park.
Officials say the lack of information is causing fear among residents with many concerned about the potential safety risk.
"This is affecting our citizens every day, every night and this has to stop," said Ocean County Commissioner Frank Sadeghi.
New Jersey officials are also calling on the federal government for help, saying it's clear more resources are needed to fully understand the issue.
https://www.cbsnews.com/philadelphia/news/ocean-county-sheriff-launches-drone-patrol-unit/