ARLINGTON, Va. (7News) — In recent days several people, including former Maryland Governor Larry Hogan, shared on social media reports of unidentified drones in the skies over Maryland and New Jersey.
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Federal officials said on Thursday that they had no evidence that drone sightings posed a national security threat and are trying to confirm whether the drone flights are actually drones, manned aircraft, or otherwise inaccurate sightings.
7News reached out to the Federal Bureau of Information about alleged sightings in Virginia, who said they had no details related to those claims.
Regardless, many have expressed security concerns about the sightings as government officials work to determine their source, with one lawmaker even suggesting the drones be shot down.
But in an interview with 7News, John Slaughter, director of the University of Maryland’s Unmanned Aircraft Systems Research and Operations Center, explained why shooting down the unknown drones might cause legal challenges at the federal level.
Slaughter spoke with 7News about security risks the drones pose, while providing his own thoughts on the sightings. Watch that conversation in the media player above.
