The Mystery of the New Jersey Drones: What We Know So Far
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VOICE OVER: Peter DeGiglio
Mysterious drone sightings over New Jersey and the United States have sparked widespread speculation and concern. Join us as we dive into the unexplained phenomenon, exploring government responses, eyewitness accounts, and the theories surrounding these enigmatic aerial objects. From official government statements to conspiracy theories about foreign surveillance and potential extraterrestrial activity, we unpack the most intriguing aspects of the 2024 drone sightings that have captured global attention. What do you think is really happening? Feel free to speculate in the comments.
The New Jersey Drones Mystery - What We Know So Far?
Repeated sightings of strange things in the sky, inconclusive comments issued by multiple government agencies, and social media ablaze with conspiracy theories; if it all sounds like science fiction, then what’s really disturbing is that the story is real. The headlines are mounting up, and public feeling is beginning to get a little… edgy. In the latter stages of 2024, a rush of reported drone activity has captured global attention. And the apparent lack of a concrete explanation has reignited a debate for the ages; are we safe on Earth? And are we alone in the universe?
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re taking a closer look at the drone sightings in New Jersey, over the rest of the United States and, indeed, at other locations across the rest of the world.
The first officially confirmed reports came in on November 18th, 2024, in airspace around Morris County, New Jersey. From then, fresh cases were filed daily, and the number of sightings quickly soared. Unusual objects moving (or hanging) in the sky, mostly at night, sometimes as a cluster in formation and at other times alone and isolated. Their shape varies, although most often the reports claim them to be glowing orbs or pointed and triangular. These have come to be known as the New Jersey Drones. Although that term doesn’t even begin to tell the story.
For one, it’s a phenomenon that’s by no means limited to only the state of New Jersey. The authorities in multiple other states - including New York, Connecticut and Ohio - have all confirmed that large numbers of reports have been received there, as well. Videos and images have been shared online; the strange lights have been recorded moving over towns, cities, large expanses of water, near to power stations, government buildings and military sites. There are clips of them moving at speed, seeming to pulsate, and in some cases it’s claimed that they’ve been seen to explode. In one of the most shocking early reports, a police officer went on record saying that they’d witnessed around fifty apparent drones over the ocean and quickly approaching the US coastline. Each of these drones is claimed to have been about the size of a car.
The FBI, alone, is said to have received more than 5,000 tips relating to potential drone activity over a period of just a few weeks. Away from America, and a number of other, similar sightings have been reported. In the UK, unauthorized drones have been clocked over at least three US air bases, during the same late-2024 time window. In Germany, another reported sighting, again over a US military base. In terms of who’s behind the controls, China, Iran and Russia have all been variously put forward as potential culprits. The seeming focus on American targets has led many to believe that it could be a foreign adversary of the United States that’s flying the drones on some kind of large-scale reconnaissance mission. But, the word from the US government would suggest otherwise.
In general, the official line out of America has seemingly sought to dampen speculation and to imply that there is no major security issue. At the same time, however, the messaging hasn’t exactly been clear. In late November 2024, a series of temporary flight restrictions were put in place over specific sites in the US, including over a Donald Trump-owned golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and around the Picatinny Arsenal Military Base, again in Morris County, New Jersey. Into early December, though, and the Morris County Prosecutor's Office sought to reassure the public, stating that there was “no known threat to public safety”.
Nevertheless, in mid December, a cutting edge drone detection system was issued for use in New York State. Rumours swirled that, although the authorities were claiming that there was nothing to worry about, they were at the same time unable to track or verify most of the reported sightings that were coming in. Unsurprisingly, the message that everything’s fine, but we don’t necessarily know what they are… didn’t wash with everyone. And, actually, to some degree, it only added to the confusion and concern.
Inevitably, then, the issue was taken higher. On December 12th, the White House National Security Communications Adviser, John Kirby, addressed the drone reports during a dedicated press briefing, where he claimed that (at that time) investigators did not believe that there was any foreign involvement in any of the cases. Kirby also suggested that many of the sightings were simply of misidentified airplanes. But the government line has only served to generate more frustration for some. There have been multiple stories of tension between local government and law enforcement… and the federal government higher-ups. Those on the ground, local sheriffs and mayors, particularly in Ocean County, New Jersey, have repeatedly put pressure on national government figures to provide greater transparency and more detail. They feel, though, that more often than not, their calls have fallen on deaf ears.
December 16th proved to be another crucial day in terms of how the narrative took shape. The FBI, the FAA, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Defense Department issued a joint statement, saying that after close examination of the data, they deemed the sightings to be “a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones”. They claimed to have found nothing anomalous and (again) nothing by way of a national security or public safety risk.
A seemingly positive development, but the vagueness remained. At the same time, president-elect Donald Trump spoke about the drones during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, in Florida. Trump said that the government knew what was happening (in relation to the drones) and that the military “knew where they took off from” but “for some reason, they don't want to comment”. When Trump was asked whether he had received an intelligence briefing on the drones, however, he also replied in the same, non-committal way.
All of which takes us, finally, to a run-through of the theories so far. First, and drawing from the joint statement made by US security agencies, one possibility is that all of the sightings really are conventionally explainable as being related to scheduled military activity, police activity, or even simply to amateur drone users deliberately fuelling the story by purposefully flying at night more often than usual, and in (or around) New Jersey in particular.
There are some other, much darker ideas and conspiracy theories out there, though. One is that, no matter what the US government says, the drones are being controlled by America’s adversaries, for reasons unknown. Another is that the drones are (and were) launched by America itself, but the secretiveness is due to some kind of disturbing reason for their deployment. John Ferguson, the CEO of Saxon Aerospace, caught attention on Tik Tok at the height of the sightings, when he said during a video that he believed the drones were “looking for something”, that they were “trying to smell something on the ground”, before implying that that “something” could be a dangerous gas leak, radioactive material… or even a lost nuclear weapon.
Lastly, and unsurprisingly, the drones have been viewed by some as potentially being not of this world. 2024 has certainly been an eye-opening year in terms of UAP news, with the revelations around Immaculate Constellation and the November 13th congressional hearing both making international headlines. Could it be that this most recent spate of strange things seen in the sky is connected? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
For now, beware that there is a lot of misinformation around. With the drone sightings, there are some clips that have been found to be fake. But, at the same time there’s no doubt that hundreds - even thousands - of people are seeing something of note. The true significance of these events could well come to light very soon.
Repeated sightings of strange things in the sky, inconclusive comments issued by multiple government agencies, and social media ablaze with conspiracy theories; if it all sounds like science fiction, then what’s really disturbing is that the story is real. The headlines are mounting up, and public feeling is beginning to get a little… edgy. In the latter stages of 2024, a rush of reported drone activity has captured global attention. And the apparent lack of a concrete explanation has reignited a debate for the ages; are we safe on Earth? And are we alone in the universe?
Welcome to WatchMojo, and today we’re taking a closer look at the drone sightings in New Jersey, over the rest of the United States and, indeed, at other locations across the rest of the world.
The first officially confirmed reports came in on November 18th, 2024, in airspace around Morris County, New Jersey. From then, fresh cases were filed daily, and the number of sightings quickly soared. Unusual objects moving (or hanging) in the sky, mostly at night, sometimes as a cluster in formation and at other times alone and isolated. Their shape varies, although most often the reports claim them to be glowing orbs or pointed and triangular. These have come to be known as the New Jersey Drones. Although that term doesn’t even begin to tell the story.
For one, it’s a phenomenon that’s by no means limited to only the state of New Jersey. The authorities in multiple other states - including New York, Connecticut and Ohio - have all confirmed that large numbers of reports have been received there, as well. Videos and images have been shared online; the strange lights have been recorded moving over towns, cities, large expanses of water, near to power stations, government buildings and military sites. There are clips of them moving at speed, seeming to pulsate, and in some cases it’s claimed that they’ve been seen to explode. In one of the most shocking early reports, a police officer went on record saying that they’d witnessed around fifty apparent drones over the ocean and quickly approaching the US coastline. Each of these drones is claimed to have been about the size of a car.
The FBI, alone, is said to have received more than 5,000 tips relating to potential drone activity over a period of just a few weeks. Away from America, and a number of other, similar sightings have been reported. In the UK, unauthorized drones have been clocked over at least three US air bases, during the same late-2024 time window. In Germany, another reported sighting, again over a US military base. In terms of who’s behind the controls, China, Iran and Russia have all been variously put forward as potential culprits. The seeming focus on American targets has led many to believe that it could be a foreign adversary of the United States that’s flying the drones on some kind of large-scale reconnaissance mission. But, the word from the US government would suggest otherwise.
In general, the official line out of America has seemingly sought to dampen speculation and to imply that there is no major security issue. At the same time, however, the messaging hasn’t exactly been clear. In late November 2024, a series of temporary flight restrictions were put in place over specific sites in the US, including over a Donald Trump-owned golf club in Bedminster, New Jersey, and around the Picatinny Arsenal Military Base, again in Morris County, New Jersey. Into early December, though, and the Morris County Prosecutor's Office sought to reassure the public, stating that there was “no known threat to public safety”.
Nevertheless, in mid December, a cutting edge drone detection system was issued for use in New York State. Rumours swirled that, although the authorities were claiming that there was nothing to worry about, they were at the same time unable to track or verify most of the reported sightings that were coming in. Unsurprisingly, the message that everything’s fine, but we don’t necessarily know what they are… didn’t wash with everyone. And, actually, to some degree, it only added to the confusion and concern.
Inevitably, then, the issue was taken higher. On December 12th, the White House National Security Communications Adviser, John Kirby, addressed the drone reports during a dedicated press briefing, where he claimed that (at that time) investigators did not believe that there was any foreign involvement in any of the cases. Kirby also suggested that many of the sightings were simply of misidentified airplanes. But the government line has only served to generate more frustration for some. There have been multiple stories of tension between local government and law enforcement… and the federal government higher-ups. Those on the ground, local sheriffs and mayors, particularly in Ocean County, New Jersey, have repeatedly put pressure on national government figures to provide greater transparency and more detail. They feel, though, that more often than not, their calls have fallen on deaf ears.
December 16th proved to be another crucial day in terms of how the narrative took shape. The FBI, the FAA, the Department of Homeland Security, and the Defense Department issued a joint statement, saying that after close examination of the data, they deemed the sightings to be “a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones”. They claimed to have found nothing anomalous and (again) nothing by way of a national security or public safety risk.
A seemingly positive development, but the vagueness remained. At the same time, president-elect Donald Trump spoke about the drones during a press conference at Mar-a-Lago, in Florida. Trump said that the government knew what was happening (in relation to the drones) and that the military “knew where they took off from” but “for some reason, they don't want to comment”. When Trump was asked whether he had received an intelligence briefing on the drones, however, he also replied in the same, non-committal way.
All of which takes us, finally, to a run-through of the theories so far. First, and drawing from the joint statement made by US security agencies, one possibility is that all of the sightings really are conventionally explainable as being related to scheduled military activity, police activity, or even simply to amateur drone users deliberately fuelling the story by purposefully flying at night more often than usual, and in (or around) New Jersey in particular.
There are some other, much darker ideas and conspiracy theories out there, though. One is that, no matter what the US government says, the drones are being controlled by America’s adversaries, for reasons unknown. Another is that the drones are (and were) launched by America itself, but the secretiveness is due to some kind of disturbing reason for their deployment. John Ferguson, the CEO of Saxon Aerospace, caught attention on Tik Tok at the height of the sightings, when he said during a video that he believed the drones were “looking for something”, that they were “trying to smell something on the ground”, before implying that that “something” could be a dangerous gas leak, radioactive material… or even a lost nuclear weapon.
Lastly, and unsurprisingly, the drones have been viewed by some as potentially being not of this world. 2024 has certainly been an eye-opening year in terms of UAP news, with the revelations around Immaculate Constellation and the November 13th congressional hearing both making international headlines. Could it be that this most recent spate of strange things seen in the sky is connected? Let us know your thoughts in the comments.
For now, beware that there is a lot of misinformation around. With the drone sightings, there are some clips that have been found to be fake. But, at the same time there’s no doubt that hundreds - even thousands - of people are seeing something of note. The true significance of these events could well come to light very soon.
