The nature of these objects remains highly debated. Descriptions of the drones vary wildly, with some witnesses report glowing orbs, while Others describe triangular shapes, sometimes emitting lights. White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said, “We assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircrafts, helicopters, and even stars that were mistakenly reported as drones."
“There are thousands of drones flown around the US on a daily basis,” Pentagon spokesman Pat Ryder said. “So as a result, it’s not that unusual to see drones in the sky, nor is it an indication of malicious activity or any public safety threat. And so the same applies to drones flown near US military installations.”
Starting November 18, 2024, reports of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP) have surfaced across New Jersey, Maryland, Massachusetts, Pennsylvania, Virginia, Ohio, and New York. Many witnesses, especially near the Picatinny Arsenal (a military research and manufacturing facility) as well as Donald Trump's Bedminster golf course. These drones appeared in hotspots, including the Jersey Shore, particularly the Atlantic Coast, and near military installations.
Since the first sightings, the FBI has received over 5,000 tips in the tri-state area, according to the Department of Homeland Security, the FBI, the FAA and the Department of Defense. According to CNN US, “several instances of unidentified drones entering the airspace” were reported above Naval Weapons Station Earle, a Middletown U.S. Navy Base.
Motives are still mysterious for officials, but potential reasons include:
- Surveillance: Collecting intelligence on critical infrastructure or military bases.
- Testing: Evaluating new technologies, possibly with offensive or defensive applications.
- Unexplained Phenomena: Some sightings may be attributable to natural phenomena or atmospheric anomalies.
- Unknown: The true purpose of many sightings remains elusive, fueling speculation and concern.
“I can’t rule out the fact that we might find some sort of illegal or criminal activity, some nefarious activity, (but) all I can do is tell you that right now we see none of that,” Kirby said. A different official from the Department of Defense said, "We don’t know if it’s malicious, if it is criminal. But I will tell you that it is — it is irresponsible."
This is the million-dollar question. According to CNN, two men were arrested on December 14, 2024, for trespassing charges after a drone flew “dangerously close” to Logan International Airport in Boston, but it's unlikely that they're part of a larger scheme. Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas asserts that he knows of "no foreign involvement" to do with the drones.
Major General Pat Ryder said it’s "unlikely the drones are engaged in intelligence gathering, given how loud and bright they are," clarifying that there are “no military operations, no military drone or experiment operations in this corridor.” Similarly, Belleville Mayor Michael Melham said, “We just don’t know what these things are, so we are being cautious."
AP News reports that The FBI, the Homeland Security Department and state agencies have been investigating, "there has been nothing so far to suggest any drones have posed a national security or public safety threat." Most of the sightings have actually been legal drones, manned aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistaken for drones.
White House National Security spokesperson John Kirby said, that he Biden administration has not identified “anything anomalous or any national security or public safety risks over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the Northeast."
Despite urgings from Donald Trump on Truth Social and Senator Richard Blumenthat to "shoot them down," officials warn against firing wildly at unidentified aircraft. "It’s not as though anyone can just take down a drone in the sky. That in and of itself would be dangerous,” Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas told CNN’s Wolf Blitzer.
The New York Post reports that the government may use “deadly force” against the drones if they present an “imminent security threat,” the NOTAM said. But a source clarified that shooting them is “beyond risky" and poses "an unnecessary risk to people on the ground" as well as "legal challenges." There are ways to stop drones via other means, but "blowing it out of the sky is the last resort."
The Federal Aviation Administration has temporarily banned drone operations over parts of New Jersey until mid-January and warned that the government may respond with “deadly force” against drones that pose a threat. The New York Post reports, "...through Jan. 17, unmanned aircraft are barred from flying within a nautical mile of specified airspace, " as outlined in an FAA Notice to Airmen. Pilots who violate the order will be “detained and interviewed by law enforcement/security personnel,” according to the NOTA, as well as fined up to $75,000.
The temporary flight restrictions have been implemented over a large and significantly populated area of New Jersey, including:
- Jersey City
- Bayonne
- Elizabeth
- Harrison
- Kearny
- Edison
- Bridgewater
- Cedar Grove
- Hamilton
- North and South Brunswick
- Branchburg
- Woodbridge
- Clifton
- Westampton
- Winslow
- Gloucester City
- Camden
New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) suggested that they may be coming from an Iran “mothership” in the Atlantic. “First, we were told these drones were real but supposedly not a threat. Then we were told there were no drones at all, just unconfirmed sightings. ... Now, in the latest twist, despite claims now that there are no drones, we suddenly have flight restrictions in place over sensitive areas and authorization for the use of deadly force. It’s absurd, it’s contradictory, and it’s unacceptable."
“There is not any truth to that,” Sabrina Singh (deputy Pentagon press secretary) rebutted. “There is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States, and there’s no so-called mothership launching drones towards the United States.” Reports of alien UFO sightings and Chinese surveillance have to evidence to back them up.
President Joe Biden claims there's nothing nefarious about the drones, but many politicians disagree. In fact, a temporary spending bill was approved by the House to extend the power of federal agencies to track and disable threatening drones, AP News reports. New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, has said drone-detection equipment supplied by the federal government has yielded little new information.
President-elect Donald Trump, on the other hand, vowed at a Mar-A-Lago press meeting to "shed light on mystery drones" after his inauguration, according to NewsNation. “I’m going to give you a report on drones about one day into the administration because I think it’s ridiculous that they’re not telling you about what’s going on with the drones. They don’t want to talk about it, and nobody knows why. ...it’s very strange that they aren’t talking about it.”
"I think there has been a slight overreaction," an FBI official said. National security spokesperson John Kirby said, “What we’re not going to do is speculate, and we’re not going to hypothesize... we’re not going to provide content that we can’t be sure is accurate." Only 100 of the more than 5,000 drone sightings are credible enough to warrant investigation, according to a joint statement by the Department of Homeland Security, FBI, Federal Aviation Administration, and Department of Defense.
“There are more than 1 million drones that are lawfully registered with the Federal Aviation Administration here in the United States,” Kirby said. “And there are thousands of commercial, hobbyist and law enforcement drones that are lawfully in the sky on any given day. That is the ecosystem that we are dealing with.”
