TRENTON, N.J. — A mysterious fleet of drones off the New Jersey coast has ignited a heated political debate, with gubernatorial candidate Joseph Rudy Rullo warning of potentially catastrophic risks and calling out state and federal leaders for what he described as failures to safeguard airspace. The controversy has drawn sharp reactions from local officials, with some demanding immediate military action to identify the source of the drones.
Rullo said, so far, Americans living in New Jersey are lucky these drones weren’t armed with weapons, or worse, weapons of mass destruction.
“This is a big fail for state and federal authorities on airspace planning and aviation rules with drones,” Rullo said, further criticizing the Biden and Murphy administrations for what he called an “asleep at the wheel” approach to security.
“It could have been all over by now,” he said. “If not to that extreme, what if they are just probing our response? That response says it’s fair game, and we won’t do anything. The world is watching and seeing that we are incapable of defending our shoreline.”
He said that information coming from Congressman Chris Smith is terrifying.
“If the 50 drones aren’t from the federal government, as they’ve confirmed, and they are tailing Coast Guard ships, shoot them down and ask questions later,” Rullo said.
He likened the situation to the surprise attacks on Pearl Harbor and 9/11, suggesting the drones could have posed a massive threat.
“If these were armed, we could have had another terror attack on American soil,” he added.
Governor Phil Murphy sought to ease public fears, downplaying the risk posed by the drones. “The drones pose no risk to the public.”
Murphy said. He did not elaborate on the source or purpose of the unmanned aircraft, which have been reported trailing military and Coast Guard vessels.
Others, however, are also raising alarms. Congressman Chris Smith said he believes the drones are of foreign origin, potentially operated from a ship stationed off the New Jersey coast.
Smith spent a night at Island Beach with local officials and coordinating with the U.S. Coast Guard and other agencies, saying a dozen drones tailed a U.S. Coast Guard ship this week.
Former New Jersey GOP Chairman Doug Steinhardt called for immediate action, suggesting the military should take decisive steps to identify the drones.
“Blow one out of the sky,” Steinhardt said, adding that the situation demanded transparency and swift resolution.
The mystery has also highlighted gaps in coordination between federal and state aviation authorities.
“This isn’t over,” Rullo said. “The drones are still out there, and we haven’t done anything about it to defend our country. The world is watching. If this is a federal top-secret test or something, like somebody is testing our response, we have already failed the test.”
Rullo said when a drone prevented a medical helicopter from landing to retrieve a patient, that should have been evidence enough to stop them now.
“If I was governor, I would have already deployed defensive assets of our National Guard to protect our shoreline,” Rullo said. “Have we not learned anything from past terrorist attacks? What if they are dropping devices throughout the state? This is potentially dangerous and we should be responding to it as a clear and present danger.”