UPDATED
NOT JUST IN NJ
Unidentified drones have been sighted flying over the US military's Ramstein Air Base in Germany and facilities belonging to German arms maker Rheinmetall, German magazine Der Speigel reported on Friday, citing security services.
Issued on: 13/12/2024 -
By: NEWS WIRES
German authorities said Friday that unidentified drones had been spotted flying over sensitive military and industrial sites including the US Ramstein airbase.
The reports come after German officials have repeatedly voiced alarm about the threat of Russian spying as the Ukraine war heightens tensions between Moscow and NATO.
However, police did not say who they thought had launched the unmanned aerial vehicles.
“In recent days, several drone flights have been detected over critical infrastructure in Rhineland-Palatinate state,” a regional police spokesman told AFP.
The UAVs were first sighted at German company BASF’s plant in Ludwigshafen, known as the world’s biggest chemicals complex, the spokesman said.
“This was followed in the course of this week by drone overflights over the US airbase in Ramstein,” he added.
The drones were detected at dusk and were “larger than the usual commercial hobby drones”, the spokesman said.
05:39© FRANCE 24Police in Rhineland-Palatinate have set up a special investigative unit to look into the incidents.
There is “no concrete danger to the facilities concerned”, the spokesman said.
The sightings in Ramstein were on December 3 and 4, according to Der Spiegel magazine.
Unidentified drones have also been sighted over facilities belonging to German arms maker Rheinmetall, Der Spiegel reported, citing security services.
A source with knowledge of the matter confirmed to AFP that suspicious drones had been spotted near Rheinmetall’s largest ammunition production site at Unterluess, Lower Saxony.
Unidentified drones were also reported in August over the Bruensbuettel industrial area in the northern state of Schleswig-Holstein.
Foreign Minister Annalena Baerbock at the time said the devices were surely “not there to observe the beautiful local landscape, but because there is a chemical park there and a... storage facility for nuclear waste nearby”.
Media reports said officials believed those drones were Russian reconnaissance devices.
However, investigations into the Bruensbuettel sightings have so far shown no indications of espionage, according to a report from the ARD broadcaster on Friday.
German officials have repeatedly raised the alarm in recent months about Russian spying and “hybrid warfare”, including acts of sabotage and disinformation in the campaign towards February general elections.
(AFP)
Drones Follow U.S. Coast Guard Boat Off New Jersey
IT USED TO BE UFO'S
Police in Asbury Park, New Jersey have reported a huge cluster of drones arriving from offshore, including more than a dozen that appear to have tracked a Coast Guard motor lifeboat.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) reported Tuesday that about 50 drones arrived from seaward over Asbury Park on Sunday night. As many as 30 additional drones followed a 47-foot USCG fast response boat as it operated just off the coast, he said.
Gov. Phil Murphy has assured the public that the drones pose no threat, but in questioning before a congressional panel on Tuesday, a top FBI official said that law enforcement has no knowledge of who the operator of the drone swarm might be. "We just don't know, and that's the concerning part," assistant FBI director Robert Wheeler told the panel.
Large-scale drone sightings have been reported all over New Jersey in recent weeks, including some at sensitive military sites and near critical infrastructure. Bystanders have reported flying unmanned craft of unusually large size, exceeding the scale of normal commercial UAVs.
The drones do not come from any nearby military base, officials at Naval Weapons Station Earle and the Picatinny Arsenal have confirmed. The Pentagon has not announced plans to shoot down any of the flying objects, and is presently watching and waiting.
"At this time we have no evidence that these drones are coming from a foreign entity or the work of an adversary. We will continue to monitor what is happening, but at no point were our installations threatening," said Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh.
U.S. Northern Command - responsible for air defense for the U.S. mainland - also indicated that it has no plans to intervene. "USNORTHCOM conducted a deliberate analysis of the events, in consultation with other military organizations and interagency partners . . . at this time we have not been requested to assist with these events," the command said.
Open-source intelligence analysts have noted that some of the largest reported "drones" display marking lights that are identical to those on known aircraft, like the F-35B and the AgustaWestland AW-139 helicopter - both capable of hovering in midflight and maneuvering like a quadcopter.
In an interview on Fox, Congressman Jeff Van Drew claimed to have knowledge that the drones were Iranian, and that they came from a "mothership" located off the East Coast. Iran does possess an array of drone systems, and it has created two dedicated drone motherships - but both of these vessels are visible on satellite imaging in the anchorage at Bandar Abbas, 6,000 nautical miles east of Asbury Park (and much further by navigable routes).
By AFP
December 12, 2024
Drones, like the one pictured in this file image from 2015, are permitted for both business applications and recreational use, but are regulated Federal Aviation Administration rules - Copyright AFP FRANCOIS NASCIMBENI
Gregory Walton, with W.G. Dunlop at the Pentagon
A rash of unexplained drone sightings in the skies above New Jersey has left locals rattled and sent US officials scrambling for answers.
Breathless local news reports have amplified the anxious sky-gazing and wild speculation — interspersing blurry, dark clips from social media with irate locals calling for action.
For weeks now, the distinctive blinking lights and whirling rotors of large unmanned aerial vehicles have been spotted across the state west of New York.
But military brass, elected representatives and investigators have been unable to explain the recurring UFO phenomenon.
Sam Lugo, 23, who works in the Club Studio gym in New Jersey’s Bergen county, one of the corners of the state that has seen several drone sightings, called the reports “crazy”.
“It’s pretty concerning they were sighted… without explanation. It can be alarming,” he said.
Officials including the governor have called on people not to be alarmed but have not yet offered an explanation for the aerial activity.
“I’ve seen them every night since Thanksgiving, they’re smaller than my Jeep,” wrote X user Gus Seretis.
“They hover just about tree height or a little higher,” he added, describing them as like aircraft too small for a pilot and vowing to “shoot at one if it comes low enough”.
New Jersey congressman Chris Smith wrote to the Pentagon on Tuesday demanding answers.
“There have been numerous instances of unmanned aerial systems flying over New Jersey, including in close proximity to sensitive sites and critical infrastructure, to include military installations located in my district,” he wrote to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin.
– ‘Get abducted’ –
Smith said he had been told that more than a dozen drones pursued a coastguard lifeboat over the weekend.
The lawmaker then spent “hours” monitoring the night sky with the sheriff of Ocean County, the location of a number of sightings, according to his office.
The Pentagon, the nerve center of the US military, insists the objects are not “US military drones”.
“Our initial assessment is that this is not the work of a foreign adversary or a foreign entity,” said deputy Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh.
Singh also rejected claims by Republican lawmaker Jeff Van Drew on Fox News that Washington’s foe Tehran was behind the spate of sightings.
“There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there’s no so-called mothership launching drones towards the United States,” she said.
New Jersey native Joseph Boutros, 21, said he had seen the reports of drone activity on social media. “But I’ve not seen them myself,” he said.
“It’s not something that worries me as long as they aren’t carrying weapons,” said the suited local as he collected takeout from a Bergen county strip mall as night fell.
In the cloudy skies above, the only aerial vehicles with flashing lights were passenger jets on approach to New Jersey’s Newark airport.
The FBI told AFP it was aware of the sightings “in multiple locations over the past several weeks” and said it was working with other agencies on the issue.
But the agency would not confirm reports of a crisis meeting between various government departments over the mounting concern.
Drones are permitted for both business applications and recreational use but are regulated by Federal Aviation Administration rules.
Witnesses stress that the unexplained aerial objects are larger than those commonly used by drone enthusiasts.
“I don’t want to get abducted or anything like that,” said Lugo with a smile.
David Edwards
December 12, 2024
X/screen grab
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) warned that everyone in the United States was "in danger" after unidentified drones were spotted flying over New Jersey.
In an angry rant on Thursday, Greene demanded the resignation of Pentagon officials for not revealing the source of drones that were recently seen in the Garden State.
"I'm going to call it total bulls--- that no one knows what these are," Greene said. "They can track down a guy that just killed a CEO, but they can't identify what nightly drones are and where they're coming from."
"Secondly, if they're telling the truth, then this country is in horrible shape," she continued. "We're all in danger!"
"I mean, seriously, if our great government can't identify what these drones are, they're flying every single night, the people are sitting out there videoing with their cell phones, then no American is safe."
Greene insisted that Pentagon officials were "a bunch of liars."
"And I think they're full of s---," she asserted. "If they don't know, they need to resign in shame."
On Wednesday, Republican Rep. Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey claimed that an Iranian "mothership" was launching the drones.
The Pentagon said there was no evidence that a foreign adversary controlled the drones.
"At this time, according to the FBI, there are no known specific or credible threats related to these sightings," the DHS informed lawmakers at a meeting on Wednesday.
Watch the video below or click the link here.
'Shoot them down!' Trump weighs in on mystery drone incidents
Matthew Chapman
December 13, 2024 
Donald Trump. (Photo credit: Gage Skidmore)
President-elect Donald Trump weighed in on the mysterious drone incidents happening in parts of the country in a short post to Truth Social on Friday evening.
"Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country," wrote Trump. "Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge. I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!!"
The drones, whose purpose is unknown, were first identified flying around New Jersey, alarming local officials and residents alike. Some witnesses have said the drones are the size of cars and are in prime position to spy on people's property.
Trump is not the first public official to comment on the matter. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy has assured people the matter is under investigation, and Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) burst out in a fury over the incident.
"I'm going to call it total bulls--- that no one knows what these are," she posted. "They can track down a guy that just killed a CEO, but they can't identify what nightly drones are and where they're coming from."
'Shoot. These. Things. Down.' Trump fans seek open season on drones — which may be planes
Sarah K. Burris
December 13, 2024
A drone flying over a field. (Photo credit: Vaakim / Shutterstock)
President-elect Donald Trump weighed in on the drone sightings Friday — arguing they ought to be shot down — after several days of reporting sightings in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and, as of Thursday night, parts of Maryland.
When writing about them on TruthSocial, however, he seemed to have trouble on his first pass — deleting the first post and reposting a revised version — leading some to ask if something was wrong.
"Was he having a medical event while typing this?" asked independent journalist Aaron Rupar on Blue Sky.
Influencer Harry Sisson told his 131,000 followers on Blue Sky, "Trump just put out this statement on the drone sightings and it’s riddled with spelling errors and mistakes. Is he… ok?"
ALSO READ: Marjorie Taylor Greene questions if UFOs and aliens are really angels: 'Honestly, I've looked into it'
Among Trump's suggestions was to shoot down the drones, which is a federal offense and could land folks in jail, according to USA Today.
"'Shot' down actual airplanes because MAGA doesn't know the difference between them and 'mystery drones?'" commented X Spaces host Art Candee. "Donald Trump is the dumbest man ever elected into the Oval Office."
One of her followers joked, "They’re eating the cats, they’re shooting the drones."
Trump's allies agreed with him. Fox News contributor Joe Concha, for example, posted on X, "Trump is right: Shoot. These. Things. Down."
"President Trump sounds off on the drone sightings off the coast of New Jersey and New York saying he doesn’t believe the government doesn’t know who or what is behind them. “Otherwise, shoot them down now!!!” Agreed," wrote Turning Point USA founder Charlie Kirk on X.
"Shoot the drones down!!!" exclaimed Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) on X.
Notably, reports have indicated some drones may be as large as a car.
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