Case · C-101
New Jersey: the “mystery drones” wave of fall 2024
Northern and central New Jersey (Morris and Somerset Counties) and neighboring states · United States · Nov 13, 2024 – Dec 2024
In flight Mixed witness types Video Photos
Disputed explanation
- What happened
- From November 13, 2024, starting at Picatinny Arsenal, thousands of people in New Jersey, and then in New York, Pennsylvania and other states, reported alleged large drones at night, including over military installations such as Picatinny and Naval Weapons Station Earle. The FBI opened an investigation with a tip line and the FAA imposed temporary flight restrictions; the Joint Staff confirmed some incursions over the bases, saying it did not know who was operating them but had no indication of involvement by foreign adversaries. Many videos circulated online actually showed airplanes, stars or planets.
- Proposed explanation
- The joint statement of December 16, 2024 by the Departments of Defense and Homeland Security, the FAA and the FBI, after reviewing more than 5,000 reports, found nothing anomalous and attributed most of the sightings to commercial, hobbyist or law enforcement drones and to manned aircraft; TSA documents later traced several cases to aircraft mistaken for drones, and in January 2025 the White House spoke of FAA-authorized drones. Some local officials and lawmakers have disputed these conclusions, and the operators of the drones reported over military bases have not been publicly identified.
- Official investigation
- FBI; Department of Homeland Security; FAA; Department of Defense; New Jersey State Police; TSA
Sources
- CBS News, “What do we know about mystery drones flying over New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania and other East Coast states?”, December 2024 (press)
- NPR, “As drone sightings spread across East Coast, federal officials still don't know much”, December 15, 2024 (press)
- The War Zone, “FBI's New Jersey Drone Scare Investigation Has No Suspects”, January 21, 2025 (press)
- Wikipedia – 2024 United States drone sightings (other)
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