Enemies, aliens, prototypes?: Mysterious drone sightings in New Jersey raise alarm

Some say the drones are as big as a car. The FBI has received over 3,000 reports of sightings in just a few days. In New Jersey, officials are calling for a “limited state of emergency” to be declared. The situation began in mid-November when the first social media reports emerged about objects flying across the Northeast skies. Since then, the issue has moved up the political ladder, and alarms have reached Congress and the Department of Homeland Security. Yet, despite the growing concern, no official information has been released, and the mystery of the drones remains far from being solved.

On Wednesday, local and Homeland Security officials held a closed-door meeting in the state. According to New Jersey Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia, who attended, there have been reports of between four and 180 sightings per night. The drones appear to operate in a coordinated manner, said Fantasia, but no connection has been found to individual drone owners or any federal programs. Several state officials who attended the meeting expressed concern about the lack of information available to law enforcement.

During a House security subcommittee hearing on Tuesday, Robert Wheeler Jr., assistant director of the FBI’s Critical Incident Response Group, also highlighted the uncertainty surrounding the drone activity. “The bureau is actively investigating the unexplained sighting of drone activity over that part of New Jersey, including proximity to sensitive sites and areas of concern,” Wheeler said. “We do not attribute that to an individual or group yet. I don’t have an answer of who’s responsible, one or more people that are responsible, but we’re actively investigating.”

The lack of answers sparked outrage among subcommittee members. “I feel like I’m in the Twilight Zone. You’re telling me we don’t know what the hell these drones in New Jersey are?” asked Rep. Tony Gonzalez, a Texas Republican. “That’s right,” Wheeler replied.

The questioning lasted over an hour, but no clear conclusions were reached. Texas Republican Rep. August Pfluger, who was leading the hearing, expressed particular concern about whether the public was at risk, but also received no answers.

“There’s nothing that is known that would lead me to say that,” Wheeler said. “But we just don’t know. And that’s the concerning part of it.”

When Pfluger suggested shooting down the drones, Wheeler responded: “Authority exists to mitigate a UAS [drone] in flight when authorized, and that could certainly apply to a sensitive site.” However, he did not explain why this measure had not yet been taken despite the volume of sightings, some of which have occurred above or near military installations.

Rep. Chris Smith, the most senior U.S. lawmaker from New Jersey, shared a troubling account from Monday when he was at Island Beach State Park with the Ocean County sheriff. “One of his officers, two nights ago, saw 50 drones coming off the ocean,” Smith said. “Then, last night [Tuesday] we had a number of other people here, including a commanding officer from the Coast Guard, who said that one of their 47-foot motor lifeboats was followed by between 12 and 30 of these drones.”

Smith urged his colleagues to push the Department of Defense to assist in taking down a drone. “Let’s go get that DOD [Department of Defense] capability and find out, put to rest the question, who is it? We can bring one down tomorrow. They’re coming in every day.”

Since the first sightings in mid-November, there have been reports of drones in at least eight counties in New Jersey. Mayors from 21 cities in northern and central New Jersey have written a joint letter to Gov. Phil Murphy, urging action. Jon Bramnick, a state senator from New Jersey who is also running for governor, has called for a ban on all drones and the declaration of a “limited state of emergency” until the public is given an explanation for the sightings.

Concerns have focused on drone sightings near President-elect Donald Trump’s Bedminster golf course, where airspace has been closed to drones, as well as over sensitive infrastructure such as power transmission points, train stations, and police departments. The sightings have also recently spread to parts of New York City and suburban Philadelphia. Nicole Malliotakis, a Republican congresswoman who represents Staten Island and parts of Brooklyn, testified before the House of Representatives that drones had been reported over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, which connects her constituency and is near military bases.

The phenomenon, which has gone viral on the internet with numerous videos and photos, has sparked a wave of rumors and speculation. The theories range from misidentified aircraft to suggestions that the drones are extraterrestrial, or even that they come from international enemies (the Pentagon has denied they are Iranian drones from a ship near the U.S. coast). Another theory is that they are tests of an internal intelligence program or prototypes of new technology. In any case, with no official confirmation, all of this remains in the realm of conspiracy, but the residents of the Northeast are growing increasingly uneasy about this mysterious phenomenon that is literally flying over their heads.

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