On Sunday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-NY) urged Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas for better equipment to locate mystery drones in the Mid-Atlantic.
“I’m pushing for answers amid these drone sightings,” Schumer said on X. “I’m calling for [Mayorkas] to deploy special drone-detection tech across” New York and New Jersey.
I’m pushing for answers amid these drone sightings.
I’m calling for @SecMayorkas to deploy special drone-detection tech across NY and NJ.
And I’m working to pass a bill in the Senate to give local law enforcement more tools for drone detection.
— Chuck Schumer (@SenSchumer) December 15, 2024
The Port Authority said a New York airport closed runways on Friday night for about an hour following a report from the FAA about a “drone sighting,” according to The New York Post.
In a letter to Mayorkas, Schumer suggested “drone-specific radar like the ROBIN” given how there have been sightings near “vulnerable sites such as airports and critical infrastructure.”
Schumer letter to DHS Sec.
Mayorkas on drones: “Given that drone sightings have been
reported across hundreds of
miles, and in the vicinity of
vulnerable sites such as airports
and critical infrastructure, I urge
you to deploy additional systems
like this (ROBIN) across NY & NJ.” pic.twitter.com/K86VDbn31V— Craig Caplan (@CraigCaplan) December 15, 2024
Such a detection system uses “not a linear line of sight, but 360-degree technology that has a much better chance of detecting these drones,” Schumer said in a news conference.
Mayorkas indicated on ABC News’ “This Week” with George Stephanopoulos that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) had begun to send equipment to New Jersey in particular.
“We, in the federal government, have deployed additional resources, personnel, technology, to assist the New Jersey State Police in addressing the drone sightings,” Mayorkas said.
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The agency sent New Jersey State Police a “drone-specific radar that also cues a highly capable EO/IR, or electro-optical infrared camera system,” a DHS official told reporters in a call.
“If the radar detects a drone, the camera will be able to identify and track it,” the official said, adding, “This is extremely helpful for drones without a standard radio frequency signal.”
On Wednesday, New Jersey Republican Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia shared to X details from a briefing about the suspected drones that have been spotted over the past several weeks.
She said the “large” drones were 6 feet in diameter, operated in a coordinated manner, and appeared to avoid “traditional methods” of detection by helicopters and radio frequencies.
White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said last week that “sophisticated electronic detection technologies” had not been able to corroborate visual sightings.
“To the contrary,” Kirby added, “upon review of available imagery it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully.”
New York Governor Kathy Hochul, a Democrat, said in a statement on Sunday that her calls for “additional resources” to assist in solving the drone mystery had been answered.
“[O]ur federal partners are deploying a state-of-the-art drone detection system to New York State. This system will support state and federal law enforcement in their investigations,” she said.
Hochul, Kirby, and Mayorkas also called on Congress to pass legislation to boost the authorities and resources afforded to state and local law enforcement agencies to counter drones.
The Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act will give states “the authority and resources required to respond to circumstances like we face today,” Hochul said.
In his post to X on Sunday, Schumer declared that he is “working to pass a bill in the Senate to give local law enforcement more tools for drone detection.”
