Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., pushed back against high-ranking officials who dismissed claims he obtained from “very qualified” and “reliable” sources suggesting that mystery drones spotted over New Jersey airspace for weeks are linked to an Iranian “mothership” positioned off the U.S. East Coast.
“They’ve been incredibly stupid and incredibly weak with this,” Van Drew said Thursday on Fox’s “America’s Newsroom.”
“We know they’re not backyard drones that some hobbyist is using because they’re much more sophisticated than that. We know that they’re not a commercial company within the United States because we don’t even have this level of sophistication yet,” Van Drew said. “We are a full decade behind where China is with drones. The government claims it’s not them. They say it’s not them, so who is it?”
He added: “I have credible individuals who have high security ratings, and they came to me and again, these are dependable, credible individuals that have security clearance that felt that they wanted to clear the air. They were, in essence, whistleblowers, and they believe there’s a real possibility it could be Iran, that there could be a ship not right on the coast of New Jersey. These drones, as cited by the Coast Guard, are coming in and out of the ocean. They’re going to the ocean. They’re not pontoons. They’re not landing on the water. They’re landing on something. We’re not being told the truth. They are dealing with the American public like we’re stupid.”
WATCH:
For about a month, mystery drones with flashing lights and no apparent purpose have been spotted over residential areas across New Jersey. This has raised concerns among officials and residents who are demanding answers about their origins.
Van Drew, a member of the Transportation Committee and the Aviation Subcommittee, stated Wednesday that confidential but “credible” sources informed him the drones might be linked to an Iranian mothership off the U.S. coast, though this claim has not been verified. Van Drew also called for the drones to be “shot down.”
During a briefing on Wednesday, Fox News chief national security correspondent Jennifer Griffin asked Pentagon spokeswoman Sabrina Singh about Van Drew’s allegations, which she dismissed.
“There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there’s no so-called ‘mothership’ launching drones toward the United States,” she said.
Democratic New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy dismissed the claim, stating that the Defense Department has “zero evidence to that effect.”
“The FBI said zero evidence. I’m not sure what he’s [Van Drew] been watching lately, but he might want to watch the news…” he noted further, adding that the situation is his “top priority.”
The governor posted to X last Thursday that “there is no known threat to the public at this time.” But at the same time, Garden State officials have said they are taking the mystery drone sightings “seriously.”
“These drones very well could be launched from a ship. It could be hundreds of miles out at sea,” Van Drew said, replying to such dismissals.
“These types of drones go much greater distances. These are something that we normally don’t see in the United States, so there is a real possibility. Could it be China? Absolutely. Could it be somebody else? It sure could,” the New Jersey Republican continued in his Fox interview.
“Here’s the deal: They don’t know what it is. They don’t know what it’s about. They haven’t taken one down to analyze it. They have no idea where it comes from, but they know that it’s not that? I mean, that’s nonsense. They do not know what they’re doing. Why don’t they take one of them down, analyze it, and let us know what’s really happening?” he asked.
“I hope they know more than they’re telling us, but that’s disrespectful to the public and to Congress. It’s about time they leveled with the truth,” he said.
