Rantburg

Today's Front Page   View All of Fri 07/25/2025 View Thu 07/24/2025 View Wed 07/23/2025 View Tue 07/22/2025 View Mon 07/21/2025 View Sun 07/20/2025 View Sat 07/19/2025
2024-12-14 -Short Attention Span Theater-
Biden admin says it doesn't have authority to shoot down mysterious drones as Trump offers action plan
[FoxNews] A series of drone sightings over New Jersey and near U.S. military installations that began in mid-November has residents concerned and lawmakers demanding answers as their origins and purpose remain unknown.

FAST FACTS
  • A series of unidentified drone sightings near U.S. military installations and over residences in New Jersey since mid-November has caused alarm.

  • White House national security communications adviser John Kirby has said many of the purported drone sightings are actually lawfully operated manned aircraft and that there is no evidence of a national security or public safety threat.

  • Frustrated residents who believe the government's answers are insufficient have threatened to take matters into their own hands and shoot them down.

MAYORKAS SAYS GOVERNMENT DOESN'T HAVE AUTHORITY TO SHOOT DOWN DRONES
Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas on Friday said the government doesn't have the authority to shoot down drones and believes reports of some sightings are cases of mistaken identity.

Mayorkas appeared on CNN when he was asked about why the federal government doesn't take down one of the many drones that have been spotted across multiple states in recent weeks.

“Our authorities are very limited,” Mayorkas told CNN host Wolf Blitzer, citing missions involving unmanned aircraft conducted by various federal agencies. "We have various authorities that are discreet to their particular missions. We can't just shoot a drone out of the sky."

Mayorkas said officials believe reported drone sightings are “cases of mistaken identity” where drones are actually small aircraft “where people are misidentifying them," noting that some can be purchased at "convenience stores."

“We know of no threat or nefarious activity,” he said.

Mayorkas noted that officials have asked Congress to expand the scope of authority to empower local and state officials to counter drone activity.

“Those authorities need to be expanded,” he said.

Earlier in the evening, President-elect Trump called for the Biden administration to start providing answers about the drones or shoot them down.
Posted by Skidmark 2024-12-14 00:00|| || Front Page|| [11184 views ]  Top

#1 Donald Trump explodes over drone 'invasion' and sends Biden an ominous warning
Posted by Skidmark 2024-12-14 00:02||   2024-12-14 00:02|| Front Page Top

#2 Look up feckless. Pretty much this entire administration.
Posted by DarthVader 2024-12-14 00:44||   2024-12-14 00:44|| Front Page Top

#3 The Feds are exercising "Maximum Plausible Deniability" so that the boys at Area 51 can field their range toys! Not aliens people...not Iran or China (they're not hooping and hollering like they did over a single balloon)...flying only at night (that smacks of NORAD turning their cheeks)!
Posted by Shuper Clairt5942 2024-12-14 05:21||   2024-12-14 05:21|| Front Page Top

#4 ^ crap

so that the boys at Area 51 can field their range toys

51 is a test range.
Other boy's toys are flown there.
NORAD =! NRO

Somebody's Mama stirred their alphabet soup too much.
Posted by Skidmark 2024-12-14 05:33||   2024-12-14 05:33|| Front Page Top

#5 [RT] Drones spotted over main US military base in Europe
Posted by Skidmark 2024-12-14 08:24||   2024-12-14 08:24|| Front Page Top

#6 Somebody local will take action and the Feds will come down on them like a ton of bricks. It will be like the FEMA non-response in NC.
Posted by Super Hose 2024-12-14 10:55||   2024-12-14 10:55|| Front Page Top

#7 Somebody's Mama stirred their alphabet soup too much.

Oh yeah? Then why do the letters keep sticking together in clumps of three?

Mayorkas is correct in that shooting down drones is not one of the Enumerated Powers, but one might hope that as Homeland Security Guy, he would be able to improvise, adapt and overcome.

I suspect the real problem and the reason for inaction is that we simply do not have a reliable means to accomplish the task. We are quite good at shooting things on the ground and we have air defenses against planes and missiles, both cruise and ballistic. But flying low and slow and being highly maneuverable, drones are none of these things. Based on watching the Ukr v Rus games, we might want to start planning for this. It is only going to get worse.

Same with high altitude Chinese balloons.


Posted by SteveS 2024-12-14 12:29||   2024-12-14 12:29|| Front Page Top

#8 Do we not have helicopters that could follow these drones back to wherever they are launched? I mean, sooner or later they will run out of fuel or their batteries will need to be recharged. Find out where they are launched, find the perpetrators and then deal with them accordingly. If it's a mother ship out in the ocean, sink it.

If Mayorkas and DHS can't or won't do it then use the military. What is even the purpose of a Department of Homeland Security if they can't provide us with security?

If we didn't have such a feeble excuse for a president our adversaries would not dare pull a stunt like this and, if they did, they would suffer the consequences.
Posted by Abu Uluque 2024-12-14 12:53||   2024-12-14 12:53|| Front Page Top

#9 
Posted by badanov 2024-12-14 13:02||   2024-12-14 13:02|| Front Page Top

#10 No authority? Laughable. Biden has no authority to zero out student loan debt but that hasn't slowed him at all. It's curious those few portions of the Constitution that Dems are willing to go to the mats to defend while torching the rest.
Posted by Rex Mundi 2024-12-14 13:19||   2024-12-14 13:19|| Front Page Top

#11  But flying low and slow and being highly maneuverable, drones are none of these things.

We had something for that.
Posted by Procopius2k 2024-12-14 13:33||   2024-12-14 13:33|| Front Page Top

#12 I haven’t seen any photos of the so called drones that are the size of small cars, or any of the other ones. Seems like a load of crap to me.
Posted by Remoteman 2024-12-14 14:21||   2024-12-14 14:21|| Front Page Top

#13 Too bad they can't get their hands on a Punt Gun.

Still legal to use in the US, just not for migratory waterfowl.
Posted by Mullah Richard 2024-12-14 14:35||   2024-12-14 14:35|| Front Page Top

#14 Just don't shoot down any unidentified flying sleigh drones in 10 days...
Posted by Glenmore 2024-12-14 15:08||   2024-12-14 15:08|| Front Page Top

#15 LOL badanov. SUV Size!
Posted by swksvolFF 2024-12-14 15:16||   2024-12-14 15:16|| Front Page Top

#16 10th amendment?
Posted by BrerRabbit 2024-12-14 15:36||   2024-12-14 15:36|| Front Page Top

#17 So, use one of our anti-drone drones, and literally net one. Sounds like both good practice and good practice.
Posted by KBK 2024-12-14 19:07||   2024-12-14 19:07|| Front Page Top

#18 Oh yeah? Then why do the letters keep sticking together in clumps of three?

Depth of working memory.
Posted by Skidmark 2024-12-14 19:29||   2024-12-14 19:29|| Front Page Top

20:27 NN2N1
19:27 Gleng Whaick2262
18:57 Frank G
18:31 Lord Garth
18:28 Lord Garth
17:35 JohnQC
17:15 JohnQC
17:12 European Conservative
17:12 Thing From Snowy Mountain
17:07 Thing From Snowy Mountain
16:40 Besoeker
16:33 Besoeker
15:57 ed in texas
15:50 Grom the Affective
15:41 ed in texas
15:36 ed in texas
15:24 badanov
14:47 Difar Dave
14:40 Lord Garth
14:35 DarthVader
14:21 Frank G
14:19 Difar Dave
14:09 Procopius2k
14:07 Procopius2k









Paypal:
Google
Search WWW Search rantburg.com