A few months ago, there was much ado in the news about multiple sightings of what appeared to be drones in the skies near military facilities in various parts of the world, including the U.K. and the eastern U.S. It was beginning to feel like a replay of Orson Welles’ “War of the Worlds,” but with visuals.

And then . . . nothing.

Lots of far-fetched theories, and some attempts by various governments to assure us that there was nothing to worry about even though they claimed to have no idea what was going on . . . but no real explanation.

And now we are learning that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is testing systems to detect drones in New Jersey — where hundreds of drone sightings were originally reported. Not that there’s anything to be concerned about . . .

The FAA’s Center of Excellence for UAS Research is using off-the-shelf drones (officially known as Unmanned Aerial Systems) of various sizes and shapes to determine whether their presence can be picked up by a combination of systems including Remote ID, Acoustic Array, and X-Band radar, and to determine whether they might interfere with FAA or aircraft navigation systems. [Pete Muntean, CNN, April 15, 2025.]

As for those earlier sightings in November and December, Transportation Secretary Sean Duffy has labelled it the New Jersey “drone fiasco under the last administration,” and assured the public:

“This administration has taken a completely different approach, radical transparency. The FAA is doing this to ensure we can properly detect drones in our airspace and make sure they don’t interfere with airplane navigation systems . . . This is about protecting our national security and American safety.” [Id.]

(Sure . . . it’s all Joe Biden’s fault. The world is obviously much safer under Donald Trump’s inspired guidance.)

Looking at Duffy’s statement, two things leap out at me:

First, that “radical transparency” — on any topic — most assuredly would be a “completely different approach” for this administration; and

Second, we still don’t know what those earlier sightings were. The FAA says that more than 100 drones are sighted near airports each month. Maybe so . . . but whose are they, and why aren’t they being destroyed? Aren’t they violating protected air space?

In fact, congressional reports have said that U.S. Navy and Secret Service tests of anti-drone systems in Washington, D.C., last month caused collision alerts to go off in several planes preparing to land at Reagan National Airport. [Id.]

So is the anti-drone technology as great a danger to aviation as the drones themselves? Presumably, that’s the purpose of the tests in New Jersey.

But it’s okay, because “Officials have urged calm and emphasized there is no evidence suggesting the sightings posed a security threat.” [Id.]

I can see it’s going to be another one of those nights.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
4/17/25