At a hearing this week before the Senate Armed Services Committee, the top general for all air defenses for the continental United States and Canada expressed concerns about the origin and purpose of swarms of drones that have been reported across the country, including over New Jersey’s military facilities and power infrastructure.

   “The General’s comments provide further proof that the Biden national security team was dismissive and downplayed the risks presented by the mystery drones spotted all over New Jersey, especially those that flew over sensitive sites within my own district, such as Naval Weapons Station Earle,” said Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), who has led an effort to get additional information about the drones and has offered legislation to empower highly trained state law enforcement units to detect and stop drones engaged in unlawful activities.

   “The near constant drone sightings were met with no serious response from the Biden administration, who ignored or refuted New Jersey residents who expressed well-founded concerns about flights going directly over their homes, families, and critical infrastructure.”

   On Thursday, at a hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee in Washington, U.S. Air Force Gen. Gregory M. Guillot, commander of NORTHCOM and NORAD, said, “The primary threat I see for them in the way they’ve been operating is detection, and perhaps surveillance, of sensitive capabilities on our installations.”  The four-star general then noted the threat was widespread, reporting, “there were 350 detections reported last year on military installations, and that was 350 over a total of 100 different installations of all types and levels of security.”

    “The Biden administration completely ignored many credible reports, including from our men and women in uniform,” Smith said.  “I was briefed by a Coast Guard Commanding Officer who told me more than a dozen in formation followed a 47-ft rescue boat as it made maneuvers along the coast. When I reported the incident on media outlets such as Fox News and NewsNation, Biden National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby claimed it was commercial airlines preparing to land at John F. Kennedy International Airport.

   Kirby also said, “We’ve done the detection, then the analysis. We’ve corroborated the sightings. And in every case that we have examined to date, we have seen nothing, nothing that indicates a public safety risk.”

   Smith added, “Clearly, Kirby was intentionally trying to mislead the public on this issue. I heard repeatedly from the commanders of affected installations that they did not have the authority to take down one of these drones. It is no shock to me that a Department of Defense led by former Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and employing someone like John Kirby would fail to act against such a serious threat.

   “I am confident President Trump and Secretary Pete Hegseth, who lived in my district, will do everything they can to empower our commanders to respond to this serious threat at bases and other critical infrastructure around the country. The acknowledgement of the seriousness of this problem by General Guillot is an excellent step in the right direction.”

The most recent version of this release may be viewed at:

https://chrissmith.house.gov/news/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=413528

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