In recent days, the sightings have led to the temporary closures of a Stewart International Airport in New York and of Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio.

Government agencies previously said they had “not identified anything anomalous”. They agreed with Biden that many drones that had been sighted were lawfully flown by hobbyists and law enforcement - adding that people were also spotting “manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones”.

But questions from the public remain. Earlier in the week, New Jersey man Noel Thomas described to the BBC his experience of spotting a mystery object in the sky. He said it was the size of a school bus, rectangular with blinking lights, and “definitely something I’ve never seen”.

Also, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (Republican - NJ) is the “New Jersey lawmaker that the possible drones came specifically from an Iranian ‘mothership’”