New Jersey drone mystery prompts senator patrol, federal probe

An Iranian mothership? Alien activity? Overly dedicated hobbyists?

These are just a few of the theories being floated about the witness sightings of large, mysterious drones flying over New Jersey in recent weeks, spooking residents across the state. 

The Newark office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), state police and New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness have said witnesses over the past several weeks have described seeing “a cluster of what look to be drones and a possible fixed wing aircraft”.

The local authorities are calling on the public to report any information they might have, and even a US senator is patrolling the state for sightings.

The drones have been spotted hovering above critical infrastructure such as water reservoirs, electric transmission lines, rail stations, police departments and military installations, Florham Park police chief Joseph Orlando said in a Facebook post.

Sightings have been occurring nightly, beginning just after sunset and lasting into the early hours of the morning, he added.

A reporter for Bloomberg has seen on several occasions over the past few weeks large, noiseless objects with blinking lights hovering overhead. This past weekend, four were spotted flying simultaneously in the South Jersey town of Mount Holly.

White House, Pentagon and other national security officials have rebuffed the conspiracies about the drones and their origin, saying there is no evidence they pose a security risk or of any drones entering restricted airspace.

But the hysteria and concern have only grown since, and lawmakers are demanding clarity.

“It appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully,” US National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said at a briefing on Dec 12. 

Mine Hill Mayor Sam Morris said that he is disappointed with the response because residents still believe they are at risk of harm as the drones fly above them. 

“There are heavy drones over our heads, over my town, over my house – and if one of them lost power or short-circuited and fell, that in itself is a physical threat.

“So you can’t say there’s zero threat,” Mr Morris said in an interview.

“There’s just so little trust in the federal government to do its job.”

US Senator Andy Kim, a Democrat from New Jersey, said he witnessed dozens of drones on the night of Dec 12 when he joined local law enforcement on a patrol through Hunterdon County, where they have been sighted.

“It’s hard for people to feel secure when there are unexplained drones flying overhead and they’re not getting answers they need from the federal investigation,” Mr Kim said in a statement.

“This has been going on for weeks, and I’m just as frustrated as everyone else in not getting more information and details.” 

Mr Kim penned a letter alongside Senator Cory Booker and New York senators Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand, calling on the federal government to brief them on what is being done to identify and address the source of these “incursions”.

Drones have also been sighted in parts of New York.

Over the next few days, New Jersey will be receiving technology with drone-specific radar from the federal government, according to state lawmakers.

The sightings have sparked concern and conspiracies from both sides of the political aisle, similar to the spy balloon incident involving China in 2023 that confounded civilians and legislators across the US.

The outcry from Republicans and Democrats alike became so rampant at the time that officials had no choice but to postpone the first high-level visit to China in several years.

Representative Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey suggested Iranian involvement in a Dec 11 hearing and urged the federal government to bolster its security and aviation technology to avoid potential harm from the drones.

The Pentagon has denied his assertion about Iran, and also said that these are not US military drones.

The FBI and US Department of Homeland Security also said they have not corroborated any of the reported visual sightings with electronic detection methods.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy, a Democrat, has tried to soothe concerns by saying that authorities at all levels of government have not seen any threat to public safety or any evidence that there are lifeforms on the drones. 

“Let’s not fearmonger. There are a lot of conspiracy theories,” Mr Murphy said in a call-in radio interview earlier this week.

But he would like to see the federal government take a more “robust role” and he would not be opposed to federal agents taking action, including shooting one of the drones down, he added.

The New Jersey Senate Republican caucus sent a letter to Mr Murphy on the morning of Dec 12, demanding more immediate federal action.

“You must insist that the Biden administration immediately provide the necessary tools and resources to protect our state – including the authority to neutralise any drone that poses a threat,” wrote Republicans, led by Senator Anthony Bucco, in the letter.

In the meantime, New Jersey residents are gathering their own information.

A Facebook group called New Jersey Mystery Drones, focused on solving the mystery behind the drones, has amassed nearly 32,000 members, with people from across the state recounting their experiences or expressing concern about what the presence of the drones could possibly mean. 

Retired pharmaceutical manufacturer Jay Ribecca went drone hunting on the night of Dec 12 in Lumberton, a South Jersey town near Philadelphia.

There, he saw three or four objects hovering low in the sky, about 152m from the ground. Some of them were moving while others appeared to be still. 

“It was definitely not air traffic,” he said. “You can hear airplanes. They’re pretty distinctive in sound. This was – I don’t want to say dead silent – but it was very quiet.” BLOOMBERG