Drone experts told Newsweek they are questioning President Donald Trump‘s recent report that the mysterious flying items spotted over the Northeast United States in the past months were “authorized to be flown by the FAA [Federal Aviation Administration],” noting the need for someone to oversee all drone flights.
Newsweek has contacted the Federal Aviation Administration’s press office via email for comment.
Why It Matters
Officials at local and federal levels have been baffled by reports of mystery drone sightings spotted in Northeastern states such as New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and Connecticut since November 2024. Residents of Ohio, Florida, Massachusetts and California have also reported seeing drones flying overhead, raising concerns about security threats and speculation of foreign involvement.
Federal officials, like former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, had repeatedly sought to calm public anxieties, affirming no evidence of foreign involvement or ill intent behind the sightings. That said, conspiracy theories had run rampant online, including by lawmakers.
What To Know
The reports of drones began mid-November, and statements from the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the DHS said there have been over 5,000 sightings of drones across states on the East Coast.
At her first press conference on Tuesday, White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt said the drones were “not the enemy” but instead were “authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons.”
The FAA is in charge of the country’s airspace.
The FAA temporarily banned drones in areas of New Jersey in December through the middle of January. New York also temporarily banned flying drones over some of the state’s “critical infrastructure sites.” No-fly zones included Far Rockaway, Brooklyn and two communities on Long Island, Ridge and Garden City, according to the FAA.
Mike Fraietta, an FAA-certified drone pilot and the founder of Gargoyle Systems, told Newsweek that he does not believe the FAA would have been the ones flying the drones.
“[The FAA’s] focus is safety,” Fraietta said. “I don’t think it was the FAA by any means.”
Although, Fraietta noted there probably aren’t as many drones flying around as people have thought in the past months, with images being mostly of planes or hobbyist drones. The Notice to Air Mission (NOTAM), a notice filed with an aviation authority to alert pilots of potential hazards, were listed for the initial drones sited, Fraietta said.
Tombo Jones, the director of Virginia Tech’s Mid-Atlantic Aviation Partnership, which is one of seven FAA-designed UAS test sites, told Newsweek that drones are authorized to fly around at night as long as they have the lighting required.
Jones, however, told Newsweek that he doesn’t believe that the FAA was in charge of the drones spotted in the Northeast.
“I don’t believe that’s true,” Jones told Newsweek. “I believe these were likely commercial or recreational operators. The FAA, they do fly drones from time to time but they’re the regulator. They’re not typically the operator.”
But Trump’s announcement, which Leavitt read, did dispel some concerns. Newsweek reached out to the office New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, who had criticized the government on the lack of transparency on the topic. His office did not comment on the governor’s thoughts about the FAA leading the charge on the drones, but Newsweek was pointed to Murphy’s post on X, formerly Twitter.
“Glad to see the @WhiteHouse confirm that there was no known threat to the public,” Murphy wrote Tuesday. “Grateful for our partnership with law enforcement on this matter.”
The Need of a ‘Drone Czar’
Going forward, Fraietta suggested that this would be “a great opportunity” for President Trump to set up a “drone czar.”
“In terms of our national security, we do need someone who understands this,” he said. “Love the FAA, but their job is to keep us safe and allow for commercial uses, allow for innovation. They are not thinking of national security. They are not thinking of local security, so we do need a drone czar type of person out there.”
Over the past few years, drone technology and market demand have grown exponentially, and it’s only going to go upward. Mordor Intelligence’s industry report suggests that the market size for drones today is at $40.18 billion, but within five years it will reach $77.03 billion.
Key drivers in drone growth and popularity are photography abilities, the integration of 5G, drone racing and governmental supportive policies. Drones are now used in a wide range of sectors such as construction, entertainment, deliveries and agriculture. Jones, who said “drones do a lot of good,” added that his team has been asked to “start working the space of helping to protect critical infrastructure.”
“We have to start looking at how they’re registered, how they’re defined, where they should be moving in the air space,” Fraietta told Newsweek. “We don’t have anything like that.”
The position of “drone czar” also isn’t too far off. Countries like Ukraine have someone in a similar position. For Ukraine, drones have become the future of their war against Russia’s invasion. Colonel Vadym Sukharevsky is leading the charge in Kyiv’s drone division.
For the U.S., Fraietta envisions the position as someone who can train local, state and governmental levels. They would set standards for drone “highways.”
Jones, however, does not necessarily think a “drone czar” is needed, as there are people already solely focused on drones in the FAA and “making some good progress.”
He did note that the FAA had tried to establish some defined boundaries to protect “critical infrastructure through what’s called Section 2209.” Jones said that the “reality that has not happened yet” but it’s important so people know where they can’t fly.
“We should be leading the way in the drone corridor system,” Fraietta added. “However, it is going to take an incident where there is an attack on a power station or water supplies or important government assets, that we’re all going to say we need to wake up and have an oversight committee.”
What People Are Saying
White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt reading a statement from President Donald Trump: “Many of these drones were also hobbyists, recreational and private individuals that enjoy flying drones. In time, it got worse due to curiosity. This was not the enemy.”
President Donald Trump wrote on Truth Social in December: “Mystery Drone Sightings all over the country. 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!!! DJT.”
Gordon Chang, a senior fellow at conservative-leaning think tank the Gatestone Institute, told Fox Business in December: “These activities are too large and well-organized to be the work of hobbyists.”
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