Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) insisted he has “credible” sources that drones in his state could be from Iran, calling the Pentagon’s handling of the situation “incredibly stupid.”
Pentagon press secretary Sabrina Singh dismissed Van Drew’s claims Wednesday, saying there is not “any truth” to the New Jersey lawmaker’s claims on the drones or that they came from an Iranian ship off the coast. However, Van Drew pushed back against this dismissal.
“They’ve been incredibly stupid and incredibly weak with this,” Van Drew said on Fox News’s America’s Newsroom. “Here’s the point: we know they’re not backyard drones that some hobbyist is using because they’re more sophisticated than that. We know that they’re not a commercial company within the United States because we don’t even have this level of sophistication yet. We’re a full decade behind where China is with drones. The government claims it’s not them, they say it’s not them. So who is it?”
The New Jersey lawmaker then reiterated his claim that “dependable” whistleblowers informed him that there is “a real possibility” these drones are from Iran. He then said, “as cited by the Coast Guard,” that the drones are going in and out of the ocean, where they are landing on “something.”
Van Drew then questioned why the Pentagon did not choose to take down one of these drones and properly analyze it.
“It reminds me of the spy balloon last year: traveled the whole country, obtained all the information it wanted as it was just about to exit, then finally, the president ordered it to be shot down,” Van Drew said. “This is weakness and stupidity, and it’s intolerable.”
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) has similarly warned about these drones, saying over a dozen of them followed a 47-foot Coast Guard boat Sunday night. During a recent congressional hearing, Smith urged officials to grant authorization for these drones to be shot down, calling them “a very serious threat.”
Gov. Phil Murphy (D-NJ) has said the drones are using “very sophisticated” technology, and “they go dark” as soon as they are spotted.
This article was originally published at www.washingtonexaminer.com
