{"id":24748,"date":"2024-12-11T05:52:01","date_gmt":"2024-12-11T10:52:01","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.shorebeat.com\/brick\/?p=24748"},"modified":"2024-12-11T05:52:01","modified_gmt":"2024-12-11T10:52:01","slug":"smith-drone-swarm-pursued-coast-guard-boat-in-ocean-county-50-observed-on-beach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/shorebeat.com\/brick\/2024\/12\/smith-drone-swarm-pursued-coast-guard-boat-in-ocean-county-50-observed-on-beach\/","title":{"rendered":"Smith: Drone Swarm ‘Pursued’ Coast Guard Boat in Ocean County, 50 Observed on Beach"},"content":{"rendered":"
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A 47-foot Motor Life Boat from USCG Station Barnegat Light. (Photo: USCG Station Barnegat Light)<\/p><\/div>\n

U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) said Tuesday night that he was briefed by a U.S. Coast Guard commanding officer stationed in Ocean County about an incident last weekend during which a drone swarm pursued a vessel while out on patrol.<\/p>\n

Smith and Ocean County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy addressed the issue at a town hall in Long Beach Island, where Smith called on Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin to deploy additional resources to New Jersey to investigate the source and motive of the slew of drones that have been seen operating in the state\u2019s airspace over the past several weeks. In recent days, the activity of drones, known formally as unmanned aerial systems, or UAS, has increased significantly in the Shore area.<\/p>\n

In one shocking incident, Smith said, drones seemingly challenged one of the 47-foot Motor Life Boats operated by USCG Station Barnegat Light by flying in \u201cclose pursuit\u201d of the vessel.<\/p>\n

\u201cI was there on the beach and I talked to several people, including a commander from the Coast Guard who told me the night before \u2013 I was there last night \u2013 one of their 47-foot vessels was trailed very closely by more than a dozen drones,\u201d Smith said in an interview with Fox News Channel\u2019s Martha McCallum. \u201cTo me, that is not only very, very suspicious but it is provocative, and this could be a foreign power whether it be [Vladimir] Putin or Xi Jinping.\u201d<\/p>\n

Smith did not reveal the exact position of the boat, a $1.2 million vessel manufactured by Textron Marine, that is capable of mounting an M240 machine gun on its bow.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey said they were the size of a car and they weren\u2019t far off the stern,\u201d said Smith. \u201cI called the Joint Base and talked to the commanding officer there. We have the capability with DoD to ascertain where it\u2019s coming from, or even bring it down, but they don\u2019t have the authority to do it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Coast Guard operations in Ocean County come under the jurisdiction of Sector Delaware Bay, and Shorebeat has reached out to their representatives for more information.<\/p>\n

An Ocean County Sheriff\u2019s Department officer told smith he observed \u201cover 50\u201d drones approaching the beach from the ocean on Monday night.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s probably a ship that is launching them,\u201d Smith said, before the interview shifted to a potential response from the Pentagon.<\/p>\n