Drones newest: Pentagon claims East Coast objects should not navy as Congress will get briefing on mysterious origins

The New York Democrat announced Tuesday he will bring the Safeguarding the Homeland from the Threats Posed by Unmanned Aircraft Systems Act to the floor to “give state and local authorities more authority and tools to track drones.”

“Drone sightings have created confusion, anxiety, and disruptions for millions in communities across the Northeast,” Schumer said, according to pressconnects.

“Local authorities can do a lot to help answer our questions, but right now they are not empowered to do so because the federal government has total jurisdiction. With thousands of local requests each year it’s important to make sure state and local agencies have the tools they need to get answers and keep communities safe.”

Lawmakers reportedly want more answers from the government regarding recent drone sightings around the eastern US.

“Why aren’t these things being intercepted?,” New Jersey Rep. Chris Smit said, according to NEXSTAR.

He said that while federal agencies insist there is no threat to public safety or national security.

“It’s not reassuring,” Smith said. “Tell us how you know that.”

Connecticut state police are reportedly using a special detection system to track drones as they fly over Northeast states.

The Coast Guard Station in New London uses a machine called a fixed drone detection system, and can track drones within a five-mile radius.

“I can’t speculate on any sightings that have been unconfirmed and I wouldn’t want to create any of that hysteria. Looking at videos I’ve seen on the news or that have been passed on to us, a lot of these have been matched up to manned aircraft flights or things that are naturally going to be in the sky,” Sergeant Kevin Pelkey, of the Connecticut State Police Drone Detection Division, told WFSB.

It is unclear what evidence the Texas representative had to support these beliefs.

“We want answers but the response I’m getting is we don’t know whose drones these are,” McCaul said, according to The New York Post.

He spoke before a classified briefing to members of the House intelligence committee, the outlet reported.

After the briefing, lawmakers said the government had explained the drones as manned aircraft. Officials have repeated that there is no threat to national security or public safety. Drones have reportedly also been spotted around a US Air Force base in Germany.

“We need to identify who is behind these drones,” he said. “My judgment based on my experience is that those that are over our military sites are adversarial and most likely are coming from the People’s Republic of China.”

If drones aren’t a threat, then why did Congress receive a classified briefing? That’s one question Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Major General Pat Ryder was asked on Tuesday.

“I’d have to refer you to Congress on that,” he replied.

“I can assure you … that again we are sharing as much information as we can based on what we know.”

After Ryder’s remarks, one lawmaker that attended a classified House Intelligence Committee briefing on the matter told reporters that officials said the drones were manned aircraft.

Following a classified briefing, House Intelligence Committee member and California Representative Jimmy Gomez reportedly said that the public needs to have faith that the government and its agencies are on top of the current drone situation.

When asked if he was told anything that isn’t public knowledge, he said: “Off the top of my head, no.”

Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Major General Pat Ryder told reporters on Tuesday that authorities did not see a “connection” at this point between drone activity in New Jersey and those spotted at Air Force bases.

Pentagon Press Secretary Air Force Major General Pat Ryder discussed the East Coast drones in a press briefing on Tuesday afternoon.

“Similar to vehicles that may inadvertently approach a base, the same came be true for drones. As to what constitutes a threat, that obviously has to be assessed on a case by case basis, depending on what the drone is doing [and] where it’s going,” he told reporters, speaking about drones that approach military installations.

In the US, the authority the military has to detect and track “these kinds of things” is much different than in a combat zone outside the country, noted Ryder.

“For very good reasons, We don’t collect intelligence on American citizens,” he added.

Ryder also responded to concern from the general public.

“I think that in the way that you now have this modern technology and the ability, you could go out of here right after this briefing and go and buy a drone and you could fly it around your neighborhood,” he said.

“And, as long as you’re flying it appropriately and not in restricted airspace, there’s nothing illegal about flying that drone.”