Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., on Thursday joined growing calls for the drones seen flying over New Jersey and other parts of the northeast to be "shot down, if necessary,"
"We should be doing some very urgent intelligence analysis and take them out of the skies, especially if they're flying over airports or military bases," Blumenthal said according to the Associated Press.
The White House said Thursday that a review of the reported sightings shows that many of them are actually manned aircraft being flown lawfully. White House national security spokesman John Kirby said there were no reported sightings in any restricted airspace. He said the U.S. Coast Guard has not uncovered any foreign involvement from coastal vessels.
The drones appear to avoid detection by traditional methods such as helicopter and radio, according to a state lawmaker briefed Wednesday by the Department of Homeland Security.
The number of sightings has increased in recent days, though officials say many of the objects seen may have been planes rather than drones. It's also possible that a single drone has been reported more than once.
Lawmakers have been demanding answers since the drone sightings began last month.
There have been drone sightings in eight New Jersey counties as well as parts of New York and Pennsylvania.
Information from the Associated Press was used in this report.
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