No known foreign links to US drone sightings says official

Alejandro Mayorkas, the US homeland security secretary, said yesterday federal authorities "know of no foreign involvement" in the apparent mass drone sightings across the north-east, as social and political anxieties surged over the weekend amid a lack of official information.

- Edward Helmore

"I want to assure the American public that we are on it," he said, calling for "extended and expanded" authority to shoot down drones, beyond only those that pass over restricted military airspace.

The New York governor, Kathy Hochul, said yesterday the federal government was prepared to deploy a high-tech drone detection system in response to the spate of sightings in New Jersey and Connecticut.

Mayorkas told ABC News there were "thousands of drones flown every day in the United States, recreational drones, commercial drones".

He also pointed out that in September 2023, aviation regulators enacted rules allowing drones to be flown at night, leading to more such activity.

US authorities are anxious to avoid vigilantes responding to New Jersey's drone invasion, fearing that innocent bystanders could be hit by falling debris or that legitimate commercial aviation could be mistaken for unexplained drones.

"We want state and local authorities to also have the ability to counter drone activity under federal supervision," Mayorkas said.