Murphy gets federal help assessing drones
3 systems start at naval station, state police HQ
By: Katie Sobko
NorthJersey.com
USA Today Network - New Jersey
After weeks of pushing for more federal assistance on the sightings in the skies of New Jersey, Governor Phil Murphy confirmed Monday [12/16/2024] afternoon that three systems have made their way to the Garden State to monitor any nighttime activity in th airspace.
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Speaking Monday [12/16/2024] at the Statehouse Murphy confirmed that three unique systems, complete with qualified individuals to operate them, arrived in the state at the end of last week [12/13/2024] and are now operational.
..... The governor himself went out Sunday [12/15/2024] night to see the systems at work. Two were deployed at the state police headquarters in West Trenton and another at Naval Weapons Station Earle in Monmouth County, but Murphy noted that the systems would be moving throughout the state.
..... "We don't control the airspace. We don't have the sophisticated systems that our nation has that are the very best drone technology on the planet, and we don't have the authority," Murphy said.
..... He said these new systems will be in the state for "some amount of time." Now that he has been able to discuss what has been seen with experts and sen these federal systems, Murphy said, "there may be suspicious activity out there as we stand here today, but there is little to no evidence of that right now."
..... The governor acknowledged that the weather was bad Sunday [12/15/2024] night but said credible sightings were down to 12 on Saturday [12/14/2024] night and just one Sunday [12/15/2024] night. He also said it is possible there was more activity in November, [2024] before the sate had access to federal technology.
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Murphy also reiterate that public safety has not been at risk and that there is "zero evidence" the federal government or military is hiding anything.
..... In addition to the current issue and ensuring that the state has the needed technology to observe what's happening, Murphy said he sees this as an opportunity to address the topic "as it relates to drones and drone incursions as a country," including a bill that would "give sates more authority, more abilities, including to mitigate in a responsible way."
..... "It is extraordinary to me that a nation as great as ours and as powerful as ours has the deficiencies that we have now seen in living color as it relates to drone incursions. We have the technology , that's for sure, but who's got the authority?" Murphy said. "As they said in 'Jaws," We need a bigger boat.' We need a different approach here, both at the federal level and at the state level.