Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J., told Newsmax on Thursday that he is "trying to light a fire" under federal authorities to come up with some answers when he went public with his claims that the drones flying over New Jersey were coming from an Iranian ship off the coast of the United States.
"Qualified, credible individuals with high security clearance basically were whistleblowers — they didn't want their names used, they didn't want to be ratted out so they wanted it just to be secure — but came to me, because I am on the subcommittee for aviation, I'm vice chair of transportation … and said that they had real concerns that there was a possibility that there could be a ship," Van Drew told "National Report."
"Not right off the coast, not a mile or two miles in. These things can go hundreds of miles. These are different types of drones. They are much more sophisticated than anything we have."
Van Drew added: "The Coast Guard has verified they've seen them come in and out of the ocean. They leave to the ocean, they come back from the ocean. They're not pontoons. They're not landing on the water. So, they're landing somewhere. And this is the Coast Guard that has verified they've seen them go by their Coast Guard ships, their vessels. So, there's a real issue here. I'm trying to light a fire under them because it's serious stuff. The strongest nation on the face of the Earth should not be completely helpless and have no idea what they are, but just let it happen whatever it is."
The Pentagon on Wednesday said there was no evidence to support Van Drew's claim that the drones spotted over New Jersey for the past month are being launched from an Iranian "mothership." Van Drew told Newsmax he's "not sure" that's what's going on, but said he's "confident" his source is providing a "real credible possibility."
"What could these drones be?" Van Drew said. "Are they a backyard hobbyist that's sending out hundreds of these drones all over the state of New Jersey? Obviously not; these are much more sophisticated. They're much larger. Some of them are the size of Chevrolet Suburbans in the air. So, it's not a backyard hobbyist. Is it a commercial enterprise, some sort of business in New Jersey or in the United States that's launching them? No, they wouldn't do that. It would be irresponsible. Plus, we don't have that technology. We are a full 10 years behind China on drone technology. So, it is not that. So, then could it be the government, the United States government? Well, they deny it. They say they haven't done it and it's not them. So, tell me what it is.
"Our government, all they've said — now this has been going on for almost a month — is they don't know what it is. They don't know where it's from. They don't know anything about it. They don't know what it's doing, what it contains. But they know it's nothing to worry about. I mean, that's silly. It's weak, it's silly, quite frankly, it's stupid and it should have never gone on this long. We need to bring one of them down, analyze them, see what they're about."
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Nicole Weatherholtz ✉
Nicole Weatherholtz, a Newsmax general assignment reporter covers news, politics, and culture. She is a National Newspaper Association award-winning journalist.
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