Residents across New Jersey have been trying to decipher who has been flying mysterious unidentified drones over the state, with some taking to Facebook to share videos of sightings. Above, a screengrab from video of a potential sighting shared on Facebook.
Scott Ingenito/Screenshot by NPR
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Scott Ingenito/Screenshot by NPR
There is something strange happening in the skies above New Jersey, and no one seems quite sure what to make of it — not the governor, not members of Congress, not the FBI.
What they know is that starting in mid-November, dozens of identified drones have been spotted at night flying in at least 10 different counties across the state. What they don’t know is where the drones are coming from, who’s flying them and why.
The drones have been spotted above critical infrastructure, according to authorities, including reservoirs, electric transmission lines, rail stations, police departments and military installations.
A U.S. Army base in northern Morris County has already had at least 11 sightings, Army officials said this week, several of which came even after the Federal Aviation Administration moved to temporarily restrict drones from flying overhead. In neighboring Somerset County, the FAA has also banned drones from flying over the golf course owned by President-elect Donald Trump.
It’s not illegal to fly a drone in New Jersey, so long as the operator is certified with the FAA. Small unregistered drones being used for recreation can be flown in unrestricted areas.
But the number and mysterious nature of the sightings have left many Garden State residents on edge. So too has their size, as many of the drones appear to be larger than those that are typically used by hobbyists.
The office of New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy did not respond to a request for comment, but speaking at an unrelated bill signing earlier this week, Murphy said there had been 49 sightings on Sunday alone — though several of those may have been duplicates or merely possible sightings.
In a posting on social media last week, Murphy said state officials were “actively monitoring the situation and in close coordination with our federal and law enforcement partners.”
“There is no known threat to the public at this time,” Murphy said.
Murphy’s assurances have done little to quiet the concerns of residents and other officials across the state. In a statement posted to Facebook last week, the police chief of Florham Park, N.J., said “their presence appears nefarious in nature.” And during a House hearing on Monday focused on unmanned aerial systems, N.J. Rep. Chris Smith, a Republican, said he thought the drones were a “very serious threat.”
Given the alarm the drones have caused, Sen. Cory Booker, D-N.J., said in a statement Monday that he was calling for more transparency from federal officials.
“There is a growing sense of uncertainty and urgency across the state — from constituents and local officials alike — despite assurances that the drones pose no known threats to public safety,” Booker wrote in a letter to leaders at the FBI, and the Departments of Transportation and Homeland Security.
“As such, I urge you to share any relevant information about these drone sightings with the public. Without transparency, I believe that rumors, fear, and misinformation will continue to spread,” he added.
So far at least one theory has been ruled out — that the drones were coming from the Picatinny Arsenal military research base in Morris County. In a statement obtained by the Morristown Daily Record on Monday, base commander Lt. Col. Craig Bonham II said the drones were not theirs.
“While the source and cause of these aircraft operating in our area remain unknown, we can confirm that they are not the result of any Picatinny Arsenal-related activities,” Bonham said.
The FBI has opened an investigation, but bureau officials say key questions remain unresolved.
Speaking to House lawmakers Monday, Robert Wheeler, the assistant director for the bureau’s critical incident response group, said the FBI still did not know whether a specific individual was responsible for the flights or whether they were the work of a larger group. Wheeler also could not definitively rule out the possibility that the drones may pose a risk to public safety or national security.
“There’s nothing that is known that would lead me to say that, but we just don’t know, and that’s the concerning part,” Wheeler said.
In a statement, the FBI said it “remains engaged with our federal, state, local, and tribal partners to share information and protect the public.” It added that any drones “that pose a danger to any aircraft or are observed operating in restricted airspace or near critical infrastructure and other sensitive sites, can be reported to the FBI at 1-800-CALL-FBI (1-800-225-5324) or online at tips.fbi.gov.”
Unidentified drones have puzzled the public before. Earlier this year, the Wall Street Journal reported about unidentified drones swarming Langley Air Force Base in Virginia for 17 days. As with the drones over New Jersey, those flights called to memory the Chinese spy balloon that the U.S. military shot down over the coast of South Carolina in 2023.
The flights over New Jersey have led to calls for the military to shoot down the unidentified drones, but under federal law the military can only do so if the drones are over a military base and determined to pose an imminent threat. It is also illegal for individuals to shoot down any aircraft — including drones.
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