A 47-foot Motor Life Boat from USCG Station Barnegat Light. (Photo: USCG Station Barnegat Light)
U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) said Tuesday night that he was briefed by a U.S. Coast Guard commanding officer stationed in Ocean County about an incident last weekend during which a drone swarm pursued a vessel while out on patrol.
Smith and Ocean County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy addressed the issue at a town hall in Long Beach Island, where Smith called on Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to deploy additional resources to New Jersey to investigate the source and motive of the slew of drones that have been seen operating in the state’s airspace over the past several weeks. In recent days, the activity of drones, known formally as unmanned aerial systems, or UAS, has increased significantly in the Shore area.
In one shocking incident, Smith said, drones seemingly challenged one of the 47-foot Motor Life Boats operated by USCG Station Barnegat Light by flying in “close pursuit” of the vessel.
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“I was there on the beach and I talked to several people, including a commander from the Coast Guard who told me the night before – I was there last night – one of their 47-foot vessels was trailed very closely by more than a dozen drones,” Smith said in an interview with Fox News Channel’s Martha McCallum. “To me, that is not only very, very suspicious but it is provocative, and this could be a foreign power whether it be [Vladimir] Putin or Xi Jinping.”
Smith did not reveal the exact position of the boat, a $1.2 million vessel manufactured by Textron Marine, that is capable of mounting an M240 machine gun on its bow.
“They said they were the size of a car and they weren’t far off the stern,” said Smith. “I called the Joint Base and talked to the commanding officer there. We have the capability with DoD to ascertain where it’s coming from, or even bring it down, but they don’t have the authority to do it.”
Coast Guard operations in Ocean County come under the jurisdiction of Sector Delaware Bay, and Shorebeat has reached out to their representatives for more information.
An Ocean County Sheriff’s Department officer told smith he observed “over 50” drones approaching the beach from the ocean on Monday night.
“There’s probably a ship that is launching them,” Smith said, before the interview shifted to a potential response from the Pentagon.
Smith on Tuesday night released a letter to Austin requesting he allow personnel at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst to deploy resources to get to the bottom of the drone incursions, even if it means bringing one down.
“As you know, Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JB MDL) possess capabilities to identify and take down unauthorized unmanned aerial systems and have utilized this capability to address overflights of the installation,” Smith wrote. “I urgently request all capabilities possessed by the Department of Defense, especially those in use by JBMDL to be immediately deployed to identify and address the potential threats posed by UAS over the state of New Jersey.”
Smith said Mastronardy had deployed a mobile command center to investigate the drone sightings, and while many have been noted, there are still no answers as to who is behind the flights, their purpose, or where the uncrewed platforms are being launched.
“The serious concerns of New Jersey residents need to be put to rest with answers — not empty reassurances,” said Smith. “The time to act is now.”
