By Daily Mail (U.S.) | Created at 2024-12-20 12:36:53 | Updated at 2024-12-20 17:57:50
5 hours ago
The National Football League is calling on Congress to act immediately as America's drone crisis threatens to impact major sporting events.
Speculation over the source of unexplained drone sightings has reached fever pitch in recent weeks, and the NFL is keen to use the publicity to secure its stadiums as the Super Bowl fast approaches.
Earlier this year, the huge AFC title game between the Chiefs and Ravens had to be temporarily stopped for safety reasons when a man flew a drone over the stadium in Baltimore.
In fact, the league claims that 'threats, incidents and incursions by unauthorized drones over NFL games jumped from 12 in 2017 to more than 2,800 in 2023'.
In a statement, the NFL's senior vice president of security Cathy Lanier has called on Congress to take steps to prevent further incidents from occurring.
'Over the past several years, an increasing number of drones have flown into restricted airspace during NFL games,' she said.
Unexplained drone sightings have mounted throughout the Northeast of America recently
A NJ resident saw what appears to be multiple drones flying over their Bernardsville home
'With the nation's attention now focused on drones, we again call on Congress to protect critical infrastructure and mass gatherings such as major sporting events.'
On Wednesday, Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer was blocked from quickly advancing a bill trying to help state and local agencies dealing with the ongoing drone issues.
New Jersey in particular has been hit by a series of unexplained drone sightings in recent weeks, and Nassau County police have now been given the green light to shoot down any drones over mass gatherings in a bid to protect the public.
Biden administration officials have insisted many of the drones that have been spotted were nothing but innocent commercial aircraft.
However, House foreign affairs chair Michael McCaul said Tuesday that he believes some of the unidentified aircraft are 'spy drones' from China.
It was previously revealed that the communist state had been snapping up strategically placed farmland next to military installations across the US.
The NFL has urged Congress to do take action now - as the Super Bowl fast approaches
This season's Super Bowl showdown will take place at New Orleans' Caesars Superdome
'We want answers but the response I'm getting is we don't know whose drones these are,' McCaul said.
'I was with the NASA administrator, Bill Nelson, he said that these drones have been reported over military sites, military bases. I would not think those are friendly. I would think those are adversarial,' he added.
'I believe they're spy drones and the PRC and communist China is very good at this stuff. We know they bought land around military bases. This would be very consistent with their policy over the past couple years.
'We're not getting answers and I think it's because our government does not know who is behind them and that is very disturbing to me.'
