White House announces who was behind mysterious drones in the US

The White House has finally provided an explanation for the mysterious unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) spotted late last year in New Jersey. On the other hand, their rather vague explanation may raise more questions than answers.

Drone flights have been approved by the FAA

Yesterday, White House Press Secretary Caroline Leavitt held Donald Trump's first press conference, which she said started with news straight from the President.

"The drones that have been flying over New Jersey have been cleared by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for research and a variety of other uses. Many of these drones were also owned by hobbyists, recreational enthusiasts and private individuals who enjoy flying drones," said Ms Leavitt.

K. Leavitt said that the public's "curiosity" had reinforced this situation, adding that "drones were not the enemy". 

Shortly after this statement, she started talking about other unrelated matters.

D. Trump claimed not to know the origin of the drones

The controversy over unidentified drones flying over New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania began in December. 

Rumours circulated that some of the aircraft were the size of SUVs. 

FBI, FAA and state officials have acknowledged flying mystery drones. However, at the time they claimed that their cause was unknown.

Some drones have been spotted near airports and military installations, others near Trump National Golf Club in Bedminster, New Jersey. 

This prompted the then President-elect to claim that the government knows what is going on, but is not disclosing it to the public - or even to himself.

"The government knows what is going on. For some reason, they don't want to comment; they want to keep people in the dark", Trump claimed before his inauguration.

Explanation does not correspond to previous FAA statements

The White House's explanation for the UAVs - that they were FAA-approved flights - raises many questions.

First of all, this statement is not very consistent with previous FAA statements on the subject.

"We recognise the concerns of many communities. We have sent advanced detection technology to the region. We have dispatched trained visual observers," the FAA said last month. 

None of the FAA's statements suggested that the mysterious flights were authorised by the agency for research purposes and for various other reasons. 

If there were flights that officials should have known about, why didn't they disclose them sooner and let speculation spiral?