“Is it a bird? Is it a plane? Is it a… drone? ”asks Joanna Stern, half amused. Wednesday December 11, the journalist from Wall Street Journal spent part of the night scanning the sky over New Jersey, his state of residence, south of New York. “For those who are not from here or not in the know, let me summarize the matter for you: dozens of mysterious flying machines have been seen around here in recent weeks, plunging the authorities into deep perplexity.” At this stage, adds the Tech specialist reporter, “the FBI, the White House and the Pentagon that this aerial activity poses no credible threat.” According to public authorities, the majority of reports are in reality planes piloted by human beings “legally”.
Insufficient to reassure the media and citizens of the east coast of the United States. One of the Republican senators from New Jersey, Jeff Van Drew, even put forward the theory on Wednesday of a espionage operation launched from an Iranian ship. “But the question does not follow political divisions, since, something rare, Democrats and Republicans are all seeking to obtain more information for their constituents”slide le New Jersey Star-Ledger.
“They were slowing down and flying low”
Yes, yes Washington Post takes pleasure in recalling the list of “mass panics” sparked by alleged UFOs for more than half a century, the main daily newspaper of Garden State, him, don't joke. “Are we trying to make us doubt our own sanity?”annoys journalist Adam Clark.
“Since November 13, hundreds of suspected drones, sometimes described as the size of a small car or flying in groups, have been spotted by residents in twelve New Jersey counties.”
Journalist Joanna Stern herself claims to have observed Wednesday “things that looked like airplanes, but didn't move like airplanes, slowed down and flew lower.” Next to Newark International Airport, “I'm used to the incessant ballet of aircraft, but this was different, she assures. And these devices did not appear on live air traffic monitoring applications.”
To make matters worse, take the New Jersey Star-Ledgerthe American military command confirmed at the beginning of the week eleven illegal overflights of one of their research and manufacturing centers, called Picatinny Arsenal. “These contradictions only fuel a climate of suspicion around official communications, while the credibility of the Biden administration has already been damaged by the Chinese spy balloon affair” spotted over the country then shot down in February 2023.
“The lack of a clear response from Washington is fueling disinformation and frustration.”
A proliferation of drones
In the same vein, the Washington Post noted on Saturday December 14 the caution of “la Federal aviation administration [FAA]who still seems to take the situation seriously enough to order a flight ban over one of the golf courses owned by Donald Trump as well as within the perimeter of Picatinny Arsenal”.
For the leading daily newspaper, published in the federal capital of the United States“even if the threat is probably greatly exaggerated, the proliferation of drones in the country is of importance in terms of internal security”. Last year, more than a million violations were attributed to these devices of varying size, numbering 1.7 million across the United States. “The problem is that even if there is a violation, there is not much the authorities can do,” note it Washington Post.
These limited powers, which only concern a handful of important events like the Super Bowl or the presidential inauguration, “must mature” next December 20. The Biden administration, now in its twilight years, supports strengthening anti-drone measures. “If this big scare allows us to learn about these potential threats, then at least it will have served a useful purpose.”
