John Kirby, the White House National Security Communications Advisor, said in a briefing this afternoon that there is no evidence that the reported drone activity in and around New Jersey poses a threat to national security or public safety, nor does it appear to have a foreign nexus.

Kirby said, “The Department of Homeland Security and the FBI are investigating these sightings with local and state law enforcement, using numerous detection methods to better understand their origins. Using very sophisticated equipment, we have not been able to confirm any of these sightings, and it appears that many of the reported drone sightings are actually manned aircraft being lawfully operated. The USCG is providing support to the state of New Jersey and has confirmed there is no evidence of any foreign-based involvement from coastal vessels. There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted airspace.”

Kirby continued, “We definitely take seriously the threat that unmanned aircraft systems can pose, which is why law enforcement and other agencies continue to support New Jersey and investigate these reports, even though they have uncovered no malicious activity or intent at this particular stage.”

“While there is no known malicious activity occurring, the reported sightings do highlight a gap in authority, so we urge Congress to pass important legislation that will extend and expand existing counter-drone authorities. This will better prepare us to identify and mitigate any potential threats to airports and other critical infrastructure, and ensure that state and local authorities are provided with all the tools they need to respond to such threats.”

Kirby also stated that he is not aware of any US-produced imagery, but they have done a thorough analysis of existing imagery.