In a statement, President Trump said the drone flights that had gripped New Jersey were not enemy or foreign crafts.

Mysterious drones seen across New Jersey and the East Coast last year were authorized to be flown by the Federal Aviation Administration, the White House said Tuesday, echoing an earlier claim by President Donald Trump, who said the drones aren’t “the enemy” amid speculation about their origin.

The mysterious drones that lit up skies across the US late last year were authorised by federal regulators and "not the enemy," the White House has announced. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) had approved the drones for research and many also belonged to people in the area,