December 9, 2024
3 minutes read
What are the mystery drones reported in New York and New Jersey?
Reports of unidentified flying objects are increasing in the northeastern United States, but so far officials have had little response to concerned residents.
Rensburg/Alami stock photo
What’s bright and flying in the night sky over northern New Jersey?
The answer is obviously “drones,” but no one seems to know more than that, or at least no one can reveal it.
Over the past few weeks, there has been a surge in reports of unidentified strange aircraft – some said to be as big as cars – in parts of the Garden State. Witnesses and video showed that some were rotary wing aircraft and others were fixed wing aircraft. Some are known to fly alone and erratically, while others appear to fly in an orderly manner. But not all showed any tell-tale signs. They were depicted with noticeably bright lights. And according to December 5 Social Media A post from New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy said the surge in sightings is being seriously investigated, but “there is currently no known threat to the public.”
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Most reports initially focused on Morris County, New Jersey. Here, strange objects are seen moving over major waterways, city reservoirs, and even sensitive military installations such as the U.S. Army’s Picatinny Arsenal. But some of the recent sightings have come from other surrounding counties, stretching as far south as the outskirts of Philadelphia. The sighting comes amid new reports warning of drone activity elsewhere, including: Four military bases in the UK used by the US in recent weeks Langley Air Force Base, Virginia December 2023.
As reports increased in New Jersey, responses from local, state and national authorities were mixed. About 20 elected officials in Morris County signed and sent it. Letter to Relevant Federal AgenciesAnd the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has temporarily banned drone flights. picatinny arsenal and Bedminster, New Jersey, Golf Club President-elect Donald Trump owns it. In a joint statement last week, the FBI, New Jersey State Police and the state’s Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness presentation They were looking for information regarding drone sightings. The advisory panel asked witnesses to submit reports through the FBI hotline at 1-800-225-5324. The organization’s webpage providing the tip.
Meanwhile, many witnesses turned instead to local news organizations and media outlets. Enigma Labis a New York City-based startup that allows smartphone app users to submit geolocation reports and records of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAPs). According to Christine Kim, director of marketing at Enigma Labs, the company processes thousands of sightings each month and receives dozens of related reports. portion with video) has been received from users in the region over the past three weeks, with 16% of US submissions at that time being related to New Jersey drones.
“This is an active investigation that requires more eyes looking at the sky,” says Kim. “For us, this is like a ‘stress test’ where we allow users to film and report what they are seeing so we can crowdsource it and investigate together….There are no clear answers yet, but as we get more data we will be able to identify patterns in what we are seeing. We can try to find and figure out.”
Kim points out that the content and quality of the reports so far have varied so much that certainty is difficult. “One person wrote that they saw a large triangular aircraft with three lights on the corners. It wasn’t flying high or fast and was shining too brightly to be a conventional aircraft,” she says. “Another person reported seeing multiple aircraft flying very fast at night, with different brightness ranges, and appearing relatively small next to other helicopters and planes…. Here are some of the pictures I’ve seen floating around out there: For example, ‘Okay, this is what the airplane in the clouds looks like.’ So we’re exposing some of these things ourselves.”
UAP skeptic and investigator Mick West posted to X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday morning (ET) in response to the sighting. smartphone video He noted that the “drone” he supposedly recorded near his home in California was actually a regular aircraft passing overhead, as confirmed by flight tracking data. According to his post, many of the cases seen in New Jersey are likely similar cases of mistaken identity. This is due to how poor and easily identifiable most smartphone optics are. Even experienced observers They incorrectly measure the size, distance, and movement of objects in the sky.
Nonetheless, it seems implausible to attribute all these recent sightings and abundant documentation to simple mass hysteria. This is especially true when considering the response of multiple layers of law enforcement. Something strange is actually happening over northern New Jersey. But exactly what it is is still unknown.
