LAS VEGAS (KLAS) — After months of speculation surrounding mysterious drone sightings over New Jersey, the White House disclosed this week that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had, in fact, authorized the flights as part of a research program.

The first question that could have been asked by journalists in the White House press corps would start with two words.

“What the —”

The second question would be whether the entire leadership of the FAA was off on a two-month spelunking retreat deep inside the bowels of the earth and thus didn’t know about these mystery drone swarms.

Since late November, residents across New Jersey have reported seeing unidentified drones in the skies, prompting widespread media coverage and speculation. Former Gov. Chris Christie said one flew over his home, while NFL quarterback Aaron Rodgers claimed a drone passed over his car. Hundreds of photos and videos surfaced on social media, fueling concerns and leading Congress to demand answers. The FBI launched an investigation but initially admitted that the drones’ origins were uncertain.

“We just don’t know, and that’s the concerning part,” said Robert Wheeler Jr., Assistant Director of the FBI’s critical incident response group.

According to the White House, the FAA suddenly remembered that it had authorized flights of research drones. How many are there, and over what area? The FAA website doesn’t say.

In December, the FAA signed a joint statement with the FBI and the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, saying that it was dispatching advanced detection technology and trained observers to help investigate the drone mystery. The FAA had also ordered flight restrictions on drones over much of New Jersey.

But it didn’t fess up.

The situation escalated in December when drones reportedly breached restricted airspace over a nuclear facility in New Jersey and multiple military installations along the East Coast. Similar incursions were documented at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio, which resulted in a temporary shutdown. Around the same period, formations of unidentified drones entered highly restricted airspace over four major U.S. Air Force bases in the United Kingdom. Media reports indicate that the U.S. deployed its most advanced counter-drone technology but failed to neutralize or track the intruders.

Additionally, a year prior, Langley Air Force Base in Virginia experienced a series of 17 consecutive nightly drone intrusions. Officials acknowledged they deployed their best counter-drone technology, but it was ineffective against the unknown aircraft.

Theories about the origins of the drones have ranged from foreign adversaries—such as China, Russia, or Iran—to unknown private entities. Exasperated officials in New Jersey didn’t buy those theories back in December and might not swallow this one, either.

It seems like the FAA should be able to answer some pretty basic questions. For instance, when did it authorize the unknown research drones? How many of them were authorized? Over what period of time were they authorized? Why didn’t it come clean when so many agencies, including the FAA itself, were trying to figure this out?

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