Drones Sighted in New Jersey!
Since mid-November, individuals have reported and documented the appearance of drones flying at high altitudes. Though they were first spotted in New Jersey, drones have since been seen throughout the nation.
Figure 1: Supposed New Jersey done sighting (X User MartyA45_)
What Do We Know?
At roughly 11pm on November 18th, drones were spotted over New Jersey. Locals speculated that they were constructed with advanced technology because of the loud noises they emitted and their reportedly long battery life. The authorities urged caution, stating that they did not pose a danger to locals. Throughout the following weeks, the Federal Aviation Administration issued flight restrictions over President Elect Trump’s New Jersey golf course and some military bases at the request of federal security partners. Drones were later reported over residential areas, police departments, and a nuclear site. Since the initial sightings, individuals in other states have alleged encountering drones, leading local law enforcement agencies to conduct their own investigations.
Investigating the Potential Threat
New Jersey Representative Jeff Van Drew (R) posted on X that the drones were “possibly linked to an Iranian mothership.” The Pentagon denied this, though OSINT professionals documented the discovery and departure from port of an alleged Iranian ship capable of carrying drones on November 12th and November 28th respectively. President Biden recently affirmed that there was “nothing nefarious” about the drones and that “many of the sightings were authorized drones in flight.” The DHS, FBI, FAA, and DoD claimed in a joint statement released on December 16th that they “have not identified anything anomalous and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the northeast.” They go on to state that “sightings to date include 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” before urging Congress to expand counter-drone authorities. Concerning the drones spotted over military bases, the joint statement states “local commanders are actively engaged to ensure there are appropriate detection and mitigation measures in place.” Some investigations are still ongoing as federal and state authorities work to collect additional information on the drones.
*Editor’s Note: How a conclusion of this sort can be made, if one contends, they are unaware of from whom, what or where these drones originate defies any logical analysis.
Figure 2: The Iranian drone carrier Shahid Bagheri left port on November 28th (BlackSky)
Civilians Urged to Exercise Caution
The FBI cautions against civilians attempting to shoot down or blind drones, arguing that they may unintentionally target manned vehicles. Shooting down or attempting blind a drone with a laser is a violation of federal law. However, the Federal Aviation Administration has documented a nearly 300% increase in laser strikes over the past month.
Additionally, flight restrictions for drones have been issued to cover roughly 20 critical infrastructure locations in New Jersey in Jersey City, Camden, Elizabeth, Kearny, Bayonne and Bridgewater.