Feds lending technical hand to help solve drone mystery, Gov. Kathy Hochul says

Escalating efforts to learn more about a slew of drone sightings in the skies above Long Island and across New York are getting help from a detection system deployed by the federal government, Gov. Kathy Hochul announced Sunday.

Blurry images and videos of drones in the skies above New York and New Jersey have flooded social media over the past month, capturing people’s attention and raising unanswered questions about who is flying them.

In a statement Sunday, Hochul described the detection system as "state of the art" but didn't immediately provide details about how it works or which federal agency is involved.

Separately, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) called on the federal Department of Homeland Security to use radar technology by Robin Radar Systems, a Netherlands-based company, to determine the source of the drones.

"People have more questions than answers," Schumer said at a news conference Sunday in his Manhattan office.

Robin Radar Systems manufactures a 360-degree radar detection system that collects data on drones and birds in the air, according to Schumer. A flock of these "robins" across the New York-New Jersey metro area, he added, would allow officials to see what type of drones have been dominating local skies. The radar is not a drone itself, Schumer said, and must be attached to a drone or plane.

On Thursday, Suffolk County police said they had received 16 reports of drone sightings. Nassau County police on Saturday said they’d received 55 reports of drone sightings since Friday alone, and 79 since Nov. 1. Stewart International Airport in Orange County halted takeoffs and landings for about an hour on Friday night after a drone sighting.

In a statement Saturday, Nassau Police Det. Lt. Scott E. Skrynecki said reports of drone sightings had "increased significantly over the past few days due to public awareness of the activity in New Jersey."

Unlike New Jersey, the reports in Nassau had been for "objects similar to personally owned recreational drones," Skrynecki said.

In contrast, drones spotted in New Jersey were reported to be up to 6 feet in diameter, according to a state assembly member there.

Suffolk police weren’t available for comment Sunday on possible additional sightings. Nassau police did not have an updated count Sunday on drone sightings.

Centereach resident Donna Sargent said she saw two or three possible drones flashing red and green lights Thursday in Suffolk and called the police, Newsday previously reported.

The FBI and federal Department of Homeland Security have said the objects do not appear to pose a national security or public safety threat, or "have a foreign nexis."

Nassau County Executive Bruce Blakeman said he has been in contact with federal law enforcement agencies.

"I am calling on federal elected officials to come forward, be transparent, and tell the public exactly what's going on," Blakeman wrote in a statement Friday.

On his social media site Friday night, President-elect Donald Trump encouraged people to shoot down the drones. Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) said Thursday the drones should be "shot down, if necessary."

Hochul and Schumer are asking Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety and Reauthorization Act, which they both said would allow certain state and local law enforcement agencies to police drones.

Hochul also asked President Joe Biden to increase the number of federal law enforcement agents assigned to New York and New Jersey.

With AP