US citizens report numerous drone sightings in the sky. The Director of Homeland Security comments on the situation and is met with criticism.
New York – Will this performance make people on the east coast of the USA look at the sky with more peace of mind? In any case, Alejandro Mayorkas tried to shed light on the many drone sightings in the past few days. In the ABCOn the “This Week” program, the Homeland Security Minister spoke in detail about the fears of many citizens about what could happen to them there.
“There is no question that people see drones,” said the 65-year-old, explaining the phenomenon that many photos and videos have recently appeared on the Internet that capture flying objects over states such as New York, New Jersey and Maryland. At the same time, he emphasized that politicians are not idle: “I want to assure the American public that we in the federal government have deployed additional personnel and technology to support the New Jersey State Police in dealing with the drone sightings.”
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While some of the flying objects spotted are actually drones, others are merely “manned aircraft, which are often confused with drones.” Thousands of drones fly over the USA every day, including private and commercial models.
Mayorkas also mentioned that a new regulation was passed a good year ago that could play an important role in this context. “In September 2023, the Federal Aviation Administration (the US aviation authority), the FAA, changed the rules to allow drones to fly at night,” explained the head of Homeland Security: “And that could be one of the reasons why people today see more drones than before, especially from morning to evening.”
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Mayorkas also used the remarks to point out that the government of US President Joe Biden is not allowed to act as freely as it would like. “It is critically important, as we have all been saying for several years, that we need additional authority from Congress to address the drone situation,” the limited Democrat continued: “Our authority is current and is about to expire. We have to extend and expand it.”
The corresponding law, which allows the use of advanced detection technology to identify, track and contain drones, expires on December 20th. When asked by moderator George Stephanopoulos, Mayorkas added his wish: “We want state and local authorities to have the opportunity to counteract increasing activities under federal supervision.”
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Mayorkas also responded to a Truth Social post by US President-elect Donald Trump demanding answers from the government by pointing out that the policy was subject to restrictions when it came to making the drones “incapacitated”. The powers of the responsible authorities within and outside of Homeland Security would also have to be expanded.
Stephanopoulos also brought the conversation to cases of possible espionage using drones. A Chinese man was arrested after flying a drone over an Air Force base in California.
Mayorkas made it clear: “When a drone is flown over restricted airspace, we act very, very quickly.” When a person in California flew a drone over restricted airspace, that person was identified, arrested and is being charged by federal authorities.” In the Around a million drones have been registered in the USA.
Criticism of government over drone sightings: Republicans complain about “lack of communication”
However, Chris Christie couldn't do much with Mayorkas' remarks. The former New Jersey governor, who ran against Trump in the Republican presidential primary, said on “This Week” that the government simply wasn't answering the questions. “He says they are watching it, they have no unusual activities and they need more skills,” summarized the 62-year-old.
He agrees with the latter. But it would be wrong to dismiss the many drones as nothing unusual. “I've lived in New Jersey my whole life. “This is the first time I’ve noticed drones over my house,” Christie said. In a restaurant he was approached by people who complained that neither the Democratic Governor of New Jersey, Philip Murphy, nor President Biden would say anything to them about what was happening.
“When people see this type of activity, for most of them it is a new technology and they are worried and worried about it,” said the Republican, who is considered to be a moderate. “The culprit is a lack of communication from the federal government. and state level.”
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Marjorie Taylor Greene also spoke up. The 50-year-old, who sits for the Republicans in the House of Representatives, tweeted without providing any evidence for the claim: “The government is in control of the drones and refuses to tell the American people what is going on.” It really is that bad. “
Meanwhile, Chuck Schumer, one of the most high-profile US senators, appealed to Homeland Security to get to the bottom of the sightings by using drone detection technology. ABC quoted the New York Democrats from a press conference as saying: “If the technology exists to send a drone into the sky, surely there is technology that can precisely track the craft and determine what the hell is going on.” .” goes.”
He advocates the use of the Robin radar system. “We are asking the Department of Homeland Security to deploy specialized detection systems like Robin that do not use linear line-of-sight but rather 360-degree technology that has a much better chance of detecting these drones,” Schumer added.
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At the same time, the 74-year-old was surprised as to why drones were such a mystery: “Drone radar is based on the use of radio waves. The radio waves are emitted as pulses and this means that they can be detected. The question is, why haven’t federal authorities discovered them yet?”
Mayorkas hasn't answered all the questions either. And so the flying objects will continue to be discussed and some people will look anxiously at the sky. (mg)
