Shoot Down Mysterious NJ Drones, Van Drew Says

NEW JERSEY — Amid reports of mysterious drones flying across New Jersey skies, Rep. Jeff Van Drew is accusing the drones of being part of a national security threat and calling for them to be shot down.

"There is circumstantial evidence that suggests these drones could be the work of foreign adversaries, specifically Iran," Van Drew said Wednesday. His comments followed fellow Rep. Chris Smith's report that dozens of drones were seen flying onshore from the Atlantic Ocean. Read more: Drones Coming From Ocean, Tailed Coast Guard Vessel At Jersey Shore, NJ Rep Says

Van Drew said that drones were flying in from the ocean at the same time that a "drone mothership" is missing from a port in Iran.

The Pentagon denied that the drones were from a foreign country.

"There is not any truth to that," Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh said in a press briefing Wednesday. "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."

Singh said there is "no evidence" that foreign adversaries were behind the drones.

"The time to act on this information is now before the threat escalates any further. These drones are intentionally flying in uncontrolled airspace, expertly navigating around areas with radar coverage," Van Drew said. "We should have already taken action by imposing flight restrictions to regain our control. Whether this is a foreign adversary or even just a group of drone hobbyists, we cannot allow unidentified drones to operate freely in our airspace with no consequences and it is time we eliminate the threat they pose and shoot them down."

Van Drew said that the U.S. is falling behind in terms of drone technology and needs to catch up fast.

"Our enemies are not waiting for us to catch up–and neither should we," he said.