Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy provided an update on upcoming drone activity, contrasting the Trump administration’s “radical transparency” with the lack of it from the previous administration.
“Do you remember the drone fiasco under the last administration from a few months ago?” Duffy asked in a video posted to X, noting that he was living in New Jersey at the time and confirming that the public was “deeply worried” about the unexplained mystery drones.
“This administration is taking a completely different approach — radical transparency. As part of that mandate, I’d like to share an update on drones and what we’re doing to protect you,” Duffy said, announcing that that the FAA will be conducting “drone detection testing in Cape May, New Jersey.”
Duffy explained that they are conducting these tests to “ensure we can properly detect drones in our airspace and make sure they don’t interfere with aircraft navigation systems,” and said they will inform residents where and when these tests will occur.
“The FAA will operate more than 100 commercial off-the-shelf drones from everything like the drones you see behind me, to much larger vehicles,” he continued, noting that the affected communities have been alerted.
The tests will be completed Friday, April 25, and Duffy promised that the Trump DOT will continue to provide the American people with “these kind of candid behind-the-scenes updates.”
“You deserve a government that’s always going to be transparent about what we see and what we do,” he added.
WATCH:
The drone mystery plagued the country at the end of 2024, raising serious concerns as the Biden administration failed to provide clear or concise answers on the drones. At the time, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and the Federal Bureau of Investigations (FBI), released a joint statement, asserting that there was “no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt provided an update from the Trump administration shortly after President Donald Trump took office, stating that the “mystery” drones flying over New Jersey and other parts of the country were, in fact, authorized by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). It remains unclear why the Biden administration was unable to provide that crucial detail.
“From President Trump directly, an update on the New Jersey drones,” Leavitt said at the time. “After research and study, the drones that were flying over New Jersey in large numbers were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons.”
It should be noted that Leavitt did not provide details on what this “research” entailed, nor what the “various other reasons” were.
She also said that some of the drones spotted were “also hobbyists, recreational and private individuals that enjoy flying drones.”
