WASHINGTON — Officials from the White House, Federal Bureau of Investigation and Department of Homeland Security on Dec 14 stressed that most of the recent reported drone sightings in New Jersey and nearby states involved manned aircraft, and there was no evidence of any national security threat.

An FBI official told reporters during an impromptu briefing that the agency was working with 50 local, state and federal partners to look into increased reports.

The official said less than 100 of the over 5,000 reported sightings had turned out to merit further investigation, and all of the large fixed-wing reported sightings so far involved manned aircraft.

"The combination of efforts so far… to include technical equipment, tip line information and noted consults has… not found any evidence to support large-scale (unmanned aerial systems) activities," the official said, adding that many of the sightings occurred along regular flight paths.

Extensive efforts were under way to investigate the remaining cases, using interviews and analyses of radar and intelligence, the official added.

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