Drones Over US East Coast "Not From Iranian Mothership" Says Pentagon

The Pentagon has denied outlandish claims that recent Uncrewed Aerial Systems (UAS) sighted close to sensitive national infrastructure had been launched from an Iranian "drone mothership" in the Atlantic.

At a press briefing in the Pentagon yesterday (Wednesday) afternoon, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh was questioned about what action was being taken to address recent drone sightings over New Jersey "near sensitive installations." 

Ms Singh stated that the authorities were "aware of those drone sightings that have been reported. At this time, we have no evidence that these activities are coming from a foreign entity or the work of an adversary. We're going to continue to monitor what is happening. But you know, at no point were our installations threatened when this activity was occurring."

She ruled out any suggestion that the UAS were American military drones. 

Previously, while speaking to Fox News, the Republican US congressman for New Jersey Jeff Van Drew had called for kinetic action to be taken to shoot down them down. He claimed he'd been untold by unspecified "high sources" that the UAS were linked with Iran, commenting: "That mothership... is off the East Coast of the United States of America. They've launched drones into everything that we can see or hear."

But responding to those claims, Ms Singh asserted:  "There is not any truth to that. There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States and there's no so-called mothership launching drones towards the United States."

Since mid-November multiple sightings of the UAS have been reported over New Jersey; on Monday its governor Phil Murphy said almost 50 incidents had been reported the previous day alone, although he emphasised that at present there were no concerns for public safety.

Some flights had reportedly taken place near a military research facility, Picatinny Arsenal, and others close to golf course in Bedminster owned by President-elect Donald Trump.

Earlier this week Robert Wheeler Jr, assistant director of the FBI's Critical Incident Response Group, told a congressional hearing that while the agency didn't yet know who was responsible, it was "actively investigating."

In the U.K. last month there were similar reports of mysterious drones over three U.S. airbases in East Anglia. An investigation is ongoing into the drone activity over RAF Feltwell in Norfolk, and RAF Mildenhall and RAF Lakenheath in Suffolk. As per the BBC, defence sources had pointed to a "state actor" being responsible.