Coast Guard angry over Biden’s denial of drone swarm
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Growing tensions are emerging within the Coast Guard community in Barnegat Light as crew members express frustration over the Biden administration’s dismissive response to reports of an unusual drone encounter during a recent patrol mission.
The incident, which has sparked controversy between frontline personnel and Washington officials, occurred when Coast Guard members encountered what they described as a mysterious drone formation following their vessel.
Coast guardsmen from Barnegat Light, New Jersey, are voicing frustration after federal officials dismissed their accounts of being followed by a fleet of drones while patrolling the Atlantic Ocean earlier this month. pic.twitter.com/OqYNdzq7ri
— Geopolitical Kid (@Geopoliticalkid) December 22, 2024
One Coast Guard member, who requested anonymity when speaking to The New York Post, voiced strong criticism of the administration’s response. “It’s the implication that’s insulting,” the Guardsman said. “It’s implying we’re making sh-t up, when the ones making up sh-t are down in Washington, D.C.”
The encounter reportedly involved between 12 and 30 unidentified drones that maintained pace with a 47-foot Coast Guard rescue vessel as it patrolled Atlantic waters.
The crew member provided specific details about the incident, describing how the drones appeared around 9 p.m. and matched the vessel’s speed of 20 knots, displaying capabilities beyond typical commercial aircraft.
“I’m terrible with measurements, but [the swarm] was about 80 to 100 feet above us. They had four propellers. Seven feet across. The flashing lights, like you’ve seen. The festive green, red, and white lights.”
“Commercial airplanes don’t move like that,” he said. “I’ve been out there [on the water] when planes were coming in for landings in New York, and trust me, you can tell the difference. We’re not idiots, we know what drones look and sound like.”
The administration’s response, delivered through White House spokesman John Kirby, suggested the sightings were misidentified conventional aircraft or celestial objects, citing forensic analysis that found no evidence of drone activity.
“Having closely examined the technical data and tips from concerned citizens, we assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones. We have not identified anything anomalous and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the northeast, according to the joint statement from DHS, FBI, FAA & DoD.
House Foreign Affairs Committee Chairman Michael McCaul (R-Texas) expressed concerns about the situation, suggesting possible connections to Chinese surveillance operations near military installations.
McCaul wrote, “Probably not. I think they’re going to say they don’t know. And that’s a concern in and of itself, that if we have drones flying around military bases and we can’t identify where they came from or who’s responsible for them. I know there are a lot of commercial drones out there, and Secretary Mayorkas has talked about this.”
šØā¼ļøCoast Guardsman Says White House Is "Making Up Sh*t" After Vessel Tailed by Fleet of Drones
Tensions are high in Barnegat Light, New Jersey, after Coast Guardsmen reported their 47-foot rescue vessel was followed by a fleet of 12 to 30 drones during an Atlantic patrolā¦ pic.twitter.com/ix6iiqGRIQ
— Kristy Tallman (@KristyTallman) December 22, 2024
He continued, “That’s fine. But the ones flying over our military bases. By definition, I would say, are adversarial. We need to know who is behind that because I believe they’re spy drones. The PRC, Chinese Chinese China is very good at this stuff. We know they bought land around military bases. This would be very consistent with their policy over the last couple of years.”
Belleville Mayor Michael Melham (R) introduced another potential connection, linking the drone sightings to a recent case of missing radioactive material.
“There wasāand there isāan alert that’s out right now that radioactive material in New Jersey has gone missing. On December second, it was a shipment. It arrived at its destination, the container was damaged, and it was empty. So potentially we’re looking for that,” Melham said.
