Unexplained Drones over New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania

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For several weeks, citizens across New Jersey — as well as New York and Pennsylvania — have reported seeing clusters of drone-like objects flying low in the sky at night, and state officials have asked the FBI for answers as information remains scarce about the continued sightings.

New Jersey police announced on Nov. 19 that officers had witnessed “drone activity” the previous night over Morris County, in the state’s northwest corner, and said they would investigate the activity; they noted rumors were “spreading on social media” and said there was “no known threat to public safety.”

In the weeks since the first sightings, drones have been spotted in eight New Jersey counties and social media posts have spread, with one describing the drones as “large and loud,” while many users have posted videos showing the lit objects hovering in the sky at night.

A New Jersey resident told NJ.com he had seen the drones every night, and a New Jersey police chief described the drones as the size of a car and bigger than the standard drones available for amateur drone flyers in a press conference.

In December, reports of unidentified drone sightings appeared over Staten Island, in New York, with one resident telling NBC he observed dozens of drones with lights, while another sighting occurred in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Sightings have been “occurring nightly for the past two weeks beginning just after sunset and lasting well into the early morning hours” and have been “reported above critical infrastructure such as water reservoirs, electric transmission lines, rail stations, police departments and military installations,” Joseph Orlando, a police chief in Florham Park, New Jersey, said in a statement on Dec. 4; Nicole Malliotakis, R-NY, said on Dec. 10 the drones were spotted near the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge.

The Federal Aviation Administration responded in early December by implementing and later extending “temporary flight restrictions” on drone use over the Picatinny Arsenal military base and Bedminster, which is home to President-elect’s Trump National Golf Club Bedminster.
On Dec. 3, the Federal Bureau of Investigation joined several New Jersey police investigations, announcing a public request for more information on the observed “cluster of what look to be drones and a possible fixed-wing aircraft.”

Drones have also been spotted flying over four U.S. Air Force bases in the U.K., the New York Times reported on Nov. 27, with the Air Force saying in a statement the drones have not impacted the bases and a Defense Department official saying officials were “continuing to look into it.”

The Picatinny Arsenal said in a statement to NJ Advance Media on Nov. 24 that the drones were not related to the military and that it was contributing to the investigation. More than 20 mayors across New Jersey signed a letter on Dec. 9 petitioning for “transparency” about the investigations. Gov. Murphy spoke during a bill signing Monday, saying “it's really frustrating that we don't have more answers as to where they're coming from and why they're doing what they're doing.” He added the drones are “sophisticated” and “go dark” after someone sees them, and he urged more federal involvement. Lawmakers held a hearing on Tuesday to discuss the drones. Several representatives expressed frustration at not having answers or insight into the investigation from the FBI investigation. At the hearing, Rep. Chris Smith, R-NJ, advocated for a broader action and described it as “serious.” Jon Bramnick, R-NJ, urged for a “limited state of emergency” to be implemented. Robert Wheeler, the FBI assistant director leading the investigation, said at the hearing the agency is “actively investigating” the drones and that it is “concerning” that there are no clear answers yet.

BIG NUMBER
3,000. That’s how many sightings have been reported to an FBI tip line established for the drone sightings. Gov. Murphy said New Jersey saw 49 on Sunday alone, saying these sightings could have been the same drone being reported more than once.

Federal agencies are facing intense pressure Friday to give the public more details on unexplained drone sightings in the New York City metropolitan area that have been going on for weeks over residential neighborhoods as well as restricted sites and critical infrastructure.

“The bottom line is this: They’re not providing enough information to the public, and the public is concerned,” US Rep. Josh Gottheimer, a New Jersey Democrat and member of the House Intelligence Committee, told CNN’s Kate Bolduan Friday. “Believe me, I’m hearing from my constituents about this all the time, and I think it’s time for them to immediately get out there and brief.”

On Friday, Pennsylvania became the latest state to report unauthorized drone sightings, joining New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

New York Republican Rep. Nicole Malliotakis called the situation “outrageous,” saying there are “drones and unmanned aerial systems flying above us and our government is not telling us who’s operating them and for what purpose?”

Malliotakis joined Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella in demanding answers.

Fossella said the drones, often seen flying at night, have been spotted hovering over critical infrastructures including Port Liberty New York near the Goethals Bridge, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge and Fort Wadsworth, one of the oldest military installations in the country.

Representatives of the federal agencies investigating the drones who have briefed local officials behind closed doors said the drones sometimes appear to fly in a coordinated pattern and can sometimes be in flight for up to six hours, according to Montvale, New Jersey, Mayor Mike Ghassali.

And though federal officials have said there is no evidence the drone sightings pose a public safety threat, the mayor of Belleville, New Jersey has said he has received guidance police should call the county bomb squad if they encounter a downed drone.

In addition, local fire departments should wear hazmat suits when they respond, Mayor Michael Melham said, saying the information was shared by his Office of Emergency Management following recent state-level meetings.

“We just don’t know what these things are, so we are being cautious,” Melham said.

President-elect Donald Trump, meanwhile, has called on the Biden administration to either release any information it has about the mysterious sightings or shoot the drones out of the sky.

“Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge. I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!! ! DJT,” Trump posted on Truth Social.

Officials are currently prioritizing the use of sophisticated radio frequency technology that can geolocate the operator of a drone, a source familiar with the investigation told CNN.

There are multiple technical capabilities authorities can use to try and “defeat” a drone, including jamming a signal, disconnecting it from the operator or remotely “hijack” a drone but every option can pose numerous risks, the source said.

“Blowing it out of the sky is the last resort,” the source said, noting the option is always on the table if an aircraft presents a threat.

Federal and state officials said using offensive techniques to bring down the drones poses an unnecessary risk to people on the ground and legal challenges, especially as they have not been deemed threatening, the source said.

New Jersey’s Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy has formally requested additional resources from the Biden administration to better address the ongoing situation.

“While I am sincerely grateful for your administration’s leadership in addressing this concerning issue, it has become apparent that more resources are needed to fully understand what is behind this activity,” Murphy said in a letter dated Thursday.

CNN has reached out to the White House for comment.

Murphy’s concerns come as Naval Weapons Station Earle, a US Navy base south of Middletown, New Jersey, acknowledged Friday it had spotted “several instances of unidentified drones entering the airspace” above the facility despite no direct threats being identified.

“The base remains prepared to respond to any potential risks, leveraging robust security measures and advanced detection capabilities,” station spokesperson Bill Addison said in an email to CNN, adding there are airspace restrictions above the station.

Democratic Sen. Andy Kim of New Jersey posted videos to his X account showing what appeared to be a cluster of drones over the Round Valley Reservoir Thursday night.

“This has gone on for weeks,” Kim wrote. “It’s hard to understand how with the technology we have we aren’t able to track these devices to determine origin and this makes me much more concerned about our capabilities more broadly when it comes to drone detection and counter measures.”

Morris County, about 30 miles west of New York City, issued a statement calling for “the federal government to marshal all federal resources at its disposal, including the military, to end the unauthorized flight of drones over our county and other parts of New Jersey.”

“Morris County and our communities have deployed considerable resources daily since the first drones were spotted,” the statement continued.

The Somerset County Sheriff’s Office similarly said in a Facebook post they had “increased vigilance” at sensitive locations and “are analyzing data and information on a daily basis.”

New Yorkers are also frustrated.

“We know New Yorkers have spotted drones in the air this week & we are investigating,” New York Gov. Kathy Hochul said on X Friday.

New York State Police said Friday afternoon in a post on X they had received “numerous reports of drone sightings over the past 24 hours” and they were investigating the reports. “We have no evidence at this time that any of the reported sightings pose a public safety threat,” reads the post.

Connecticut State Police announced Friday they have deployed a drone detection system to assist in investigative efforts into unauthorized drone sightings reported over Fairfield County.

“It’s very unsettling to public safety and security, both here in Fairfield and elsewhere,” Republican state Sen. Tony Hwang said in a statement Friday.

“What we have is a lack of information at all levels of government. It’s really a breakdown of communication. Without that vital communication, you lose the public’s confidence, you get speculation and you get fear,” he said.

And in Pennsylvania, Governor Josh Shapiro said his administration is “aware of” the reported drone sightings and is taking them seriously. The governor said Friday evening he directed the Pennsylvania State Police to look further into the sightings, and police will be flying helicopters to try to “determine where these drones are originating from and what the purpose of these drones are.”

Federal officials have sought to calm the concerns about the drone sightings, but without giving further details about what they might be.

“We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus,” White House National Security Communications Adviser John Kirby said in a press briefing Thursday.

Kirby added many of “the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully.”

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas echoed Kirby’s explanation Friday, telling CNN’s Wolf Blitzer some reported drone sightings were cases of “mistaken identity.”

Addressing calls to shoot down unidentified drones, he said, “It’s not as though anyone can just take down a drone in the sky. That in and of itself would be dangerous.”

Mayorkas added he has been in communication with New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy daily.

Congress briefed on drone sightings
Officials from the Department of Homeland Security and the FBI briefed top committees in the House and Senate as well as a delegation of New Jersey lawmakers on the reported drone sightings, a source familiar with the situation tells CNN. The source said while there have been eyewitness reports of what appear to be drones over New Jersey, agency officials stressed in meetings Thursday many videos on social media appear to be civilian airplanes or helicopters.

“I don’t believe with all of these sightings, none of them are drones,” Gottheimer said, adding, “You can’t have the Wild West of drones out there,” with unmanned aircraft threatening infrastructure.

The New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness said there was “an active federal investigation” into the drone sightings, but elected officials want to hear more.

“We should be doing smart intelligence analysis and take them out of the skies, especially if they’re flying over airports or military bases,” US Sen. Richard Blumenthal, who sits on the Senate’s Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said Thursday. “They should be shot down, if necessary, because they’re flying over sensitive areas.”

Residents in New York’s Rockland County reported drone sightings starting as early as November.

County Executive Ed Day sent a letter to President Joe Biden Friday seeking answers and urging his administration, along with the FAA and FBI, to investigate and provide clarity on the matter.

“The fact that this issue has persisted for weeks without clear answers is completely unacceptable — not just to the people of Rockland County, but to communities across the nation,” Day said in the letter. “It’s time for the Federal government to step up, take responsibility, and provide the answers we all deserve.”

Malliotakis said the situation “is creating havoc, people are confused, they’re concerned, they have anxiety, they don’t know what’s going on.”

No foreign involvement suspected by feds
The US intelligence community and federal law enforcement do not suspect foreign involvement in the drone sightings across New Jersey, security officials told members of Congress Thursday at one private briefing.

Key lawmakers assigned to congressional national security committees were told investigators do not currently believe the sightings involved an overseas connection, the use of foreign drones, nor an operator on the ground connected to a foreign government, according to a source familiar with the briefing conducted by representatives from the FBI, Department of Homeland Security and Federal Aviation Administration.

Officials said sighted drones have been observed with FAA-required anticollision lights and are not believed to have entered any restricted airspaces, according to the source.

While authorities have not yet identified the origin of the mysterious drone flights, the source said an active FBI investigation remains underway to identify the person or persons operating them, and to determine whether any criminal violations of law have occurred.

Some of the more recent drone operations may be from copycats trying to play on people’s worries as the sightings get more news coverage, former FBI supervisory special agent Tom Adams told CNN. He said there are often innocent explanations, as well.

“I can tell you from my firsthand experience conducting operations for the FBI, as well as investigations into the suspected sighting of drones at critical infrastructure, it was fairly common for planets, crewed aircraft and even low Earth orbit satellites to be misidentified as drones at night,” Adams said.

Drones – unmanned aerial vehicles – are widely owned across the US. A total of 791,597 drones are registered with the FAA, split almost evenly between commercial drones and recreational drones.

Although the drones often display flashing lights, they frequently turn off the lights and evade police helicopters when approached, Mayor Michael Melham of Belleville Township said in a Facebook video update on Wednesday.

The FAA issued temporary flight restrictions over the Picatinny Arsenal, a US military research facility, and over President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in Bedminster after drones were spotted in those areas, one week after the FAA received its first report of an unauthorized drone operation in the New York metro area on November 18.

“Until you know the origin and what these drones’ intent is, how can you tell me there’s no imminent threat?” Mayor Tony Perry of Middletown, New Jersey, told CNN Thursday.

Feds rarely coordinate drone info with locals
The sense that local officials are being left in the dark is partially a result of outdated laws keeping regulation of the skies entirely in federal hands, according to the chief executive of a company tracking unauthorized drone flights.

“The laws that regulate aircraft are not built to empower police to deal with the drones,” Axon CEO Rick Smith told CNN News Central Friday, “so if your local state fair has a drone coming towards it that police believe might be dangerous, right now there’s nothing they can do about it.”

FAA regulations allow operators of recreational drones to fly up to 400 feet above the ground in airspace not controlled by FAA air traffic controllers. The FAA does grant waivers on a case-by-case basis to those wanting to operate drones in more congested airspace or at higher altitudes.

Giving local law enforcement more authority over drones is under consideration, Smith said, because traditional aircraft tracking technology is ineffective for vehicles hovering only a few hundred feet off the ground.

“The same radar and tracking system you use for a 747 just doesn’t work,” said Smith.

Mysterious drones in New York temporarily shut down runways at an Orange County airport, a frustrated governor said, calling for federal assistance and declaring that "this has gone too far."

The New York Stewart International Airport was forced to close runways Friday night for about an hour "due to drone activity in the airspace," Gov. Kathy Hochul said in a statement.

In a statement Saturday to NBC New York, the Federal Aviation Administration said it slowed air traffic temporarily late Friday night "due to multiple reported drone sightings near and over the airport."

Hochul said she directed the New York State Intelligence Center to actively investigate the sightings and coordinate with federal law enforcement to address the drones. The efforts remain ongoing, the governor said.

"But in order to allow state law enforcement to work on this issue, I am now calling on Congress to pass the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act," she said. "This bill would reform legal authorities to counter-UAS and strengthen the FAA’s oversight of drones, and would extend counter-UAS activities to select state and local law enforcement agencies.

"Extending these powers to New York State and our peers is essential. Until those powers are granted to state and local officials, the Biden Administration must step in by directing additional federal law enforcement to New York and the surrounding region to ensure the safety of our critical infrastructure and our people," Hochul added.

The White House has said that it has "no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus." Officials have said the drones flying over New Jersey in the past few weeks appear to be commercial-grade and not recreational.

During an interagency background call Saturday, an official with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security reiterated that there is no "evidence that there’s a threat to public safety."

An FAA official said that it is not illegal to fly drones in U.S. airspace, while an official with the Federal Bureau of Investigation said there has "been a slight overreaction" to the drone sightings.

"We’re confident that many of the reported drone sightings are, in fact, manned aircraft being misidentified as drones," the DHS official said in the call. "There is no evidence to date of any foreign based involvement in sending drones ashore from marine vessels in the area."

Two men were arrested in Boston over the weekend for flying a drone “dangerously close” to Logan International Airport as investigations into objects in the sky continue across the East Coast.

Robert Duffy, 42, of Charlestown, and Jeremy Folcik, 32, of Bridgewater, were arrested Saturday evening, taken into custody on Long Island, part of the Boston Harbor Islands, “following a hazardous drone operation near Logan Airport’s airspace,” Boston police said.

Both were charged with trespassing. Authorities said that a Boston police officer specializing in crime surveillance detected an unmanned aircraft system operating near the airport and identified the drone’s location.

When police responded, three suspects fled on foot and Duffy and Folcik were apprehended, with a drone found in Duffy's backpack, police said. A search was ongoing for the third suspect. It's unclear if the suspects have retained attorneys.

Boston police warned that even small drones pose "significant" risks, including "the potential for catastrophic damage to airplanes and helicopters. Near-collisions can cause pilots to veer off course, putting lives and property at risk."

Drone activity led to the closure of critical Air Force base airspace over the weekend.

In Ohio, the Wright Patterson Air Force Base shut down for four hours after drones were spotted flying over and near the campus on Friday. The shutdown ended early Saturday, NBC affiliate WDTN of Dayton reported. The drones were described small and unmanned and did not disrupt operations on the base, a spokesperson for the 88th Air Base Wing said.

FAA warns of lasers aimed at pilots in New Jersey
Amid the wave of unidentified drone sightings across the Northeast, the FAA has issued a warning about multiple reports from pilots of lasers being pointed at planes in the airspace spanning New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania.

“Aiming a laser at an aircraft is a serious safety hazard and a violation of federal law,” the agency said in a statement yesterday.

NBC News spoke with a private pilot in New Jersey who reported that a green light was pointed at his plane while he was flying over the weekend.

“I started seeing a green flash around the cockpit of the plane,” Ken Dietz said.

Trump says 'something strange is going on' with drones
President-elect Donald Trump talked about drones today during his press event at Mar-A-Lago, claiming that the military and President Joe Biden know more than what they have led the public to believe.

"For some reason, they want to keep people in suspense," Trump said. "Something strange is going on. For some reason, they don’t want to tell the people, and they should."

Trump then declined to comment on whether he has personally received an intelligence briefing.

New Jersey congressman says its time to track drones, launches tip line
Rep. Josh Gottheimer, D-N.J., urged federal agents to adopt an air traffic control system to track drones, adding that "Jersey, and our country, can't be the wild west of drones."

"We need a proper system to track the activity. People shouldn't have to worry about what's overhead," Gottheimer told reporters today. "Again, not talking about small drones you get for Christmas and fly on the beach. I'm talking about large, record large drones that are unlicensed and unauthorized."

Gottheimer also announced that he has launched a tips page on his website "where people from New Jersey can share information on tips, on their latest drone sightings, again, in an organized matter and to help get to the bottom of this and communicate with the public."

The congressman said it is "an insult to the American people," to not believe they are seeing drones and downplaying constituents' concerns. Instead, he called on the Department of Homeland Security, the FAA, the FBI and Defense Department to start regular briefings on drones to communicate with the public.

"Is it possible that some of these sightings are airplanes or helicopters or enthusiasts putting up their drones to mess with other people?" Gottheimer said. "Sure. But what I find insulting is claiming to people that they're not seeing things that they're seeing with their own eyes. That just doesn't make any sense."

Drone recovered at Nantucket airport
A downed drone was recovered from Nantucket Memorial Airport yesterday morning, an airport spokesperson told NBC News today.

"The drone was discovered on an area of pavement reserved for the safe operation of aircraft," a statement from the airport said.

The incident was immediately reported to the FAA and the Transportation Security Administration and will be investigated, officials said.

The recovered drone is a “small multirotor drone” that can be easily purchased online and weighs less than 0.55 pounds. According to officials, if used recreationally, it may not require FAA registration.

While no flights have been affected at Nantucket airport, officials say that drone operators “should avoid flying near airports and must receive an airspace authorization prior to operation.”

It is not yet clear who was operating the drone.

What happened when Britain had a mystery drone problem?
The spate of drone sightings in the northeastern United States might seem familiar to people across the Atlantic, who experienced a similar issue five years ago.

All flights were canceled at London Gatwick Airport in 2018 for 36 hours, ruining Christmas travel plans for some 120,000 travelers.

A series of drones were reportedly seen in the skies around the airport, 30 miles south of London in the county of Sussex, but no perpetrator or motive was found.

An Israel-developed radar system was brought in to tracks drones and jam signals from the operators, but to no avail. A 50,000 pound ($63,000) reward was offered for information leading to an arrest.

The subsequent investigation yielded such little hard evidence on the supposed drones that police admitted that those who reported seeing them in the first place may have been mistaken.

Gotham has Batman, but New York wants Robin.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., said this weekend that the Department of Homeland Security should send special drone-detection technology made by Robin Radar Systems to New York and New Jersey following a series of mysterious sightings.

“If the technology exists for a drone to make it up into the sky, there certainly is the technology that can track the craft with precision and determine what the heck is going on,” Schumer told reporters on Sunday.

Schumer said he is requesting Robin’s equipment in part because it uses “not a linear line of sight, but 360-degree technology that has a much better chance of detecting these drones.”

In recent years, the Netherlands-based Robin Radar Systems has risen in prominence, though its hardware is not only used to track down drones.

Robin is part of a consortium developing small radar satellites that can measure water levels, according to the Netherlands Space Office. In February, the company also deployed four bird-detection radars to support the creation of what has been billed as the world’s most ecological wind farm in the Dutch part of the North Sea.

As public concern has escalated over drones flying in the skies above New Jersey and other East Coast states, the White House wants Congress to pass legislation that would give greater authority to the federal, state and local governments to address drones that fly in U.S. airspace.

“We do need better authorities to deal with that growing ecosystem of drones in U.S. airspace," National Security Council spokesman John Kirby said Tuesday in an interview on NBC's "TODAY" show.

Gaps exist in federal, state and local government authorities to deal with drones, Kirby said.

"Congress needs to help us get through this," he said.

Kirby sought to reassure the public that the Biden administration is dealing with the increase in reported drones, saying that the federal government has conducted some analysis on the drones over the last several days.

"Our assessment leads us to conclude that these are lawful and legal aviation activities, manned and unmanned drones and civil aviation aircraft or commercial aircraft," he said. “We know that there’s no national security threat. We know there’s no public safety threat right now.”

Kirby also said White House officials are being as "open and as transparent with the American people as we can be."

In a separate interview Tuesday on MSNBC's "Morning Joe," Kirby said President Joe Biden is calling for a bipartisan commission to examine the issue.

"We proposed legislation. It’s gone nowhere on Capitol Hill, but there are additional authorities we need," he said.

Members of the House Intelligence Committee will receive a closed-door briefing Tuesday on the drone sightings, according to two sources familiar with the plan. Officials from the FBI, CIA and the Office of the Director of National Intelligence will provide the briefing at 2 p.m. ET.

Senate Majority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., has called on Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas to use special drone technology, specifically the Robin Radar Systems’ “360-degree technology,” to address the drones in the Northeast.

Schumer said he will also be pushing to pass a measure to broaden the rights for state and local law enforcement agencies to be able to use equipment to detect unmanned aerial devices. The bill was proposed last year by Sen. Gary Peters, D-Mich., with a bipartisan companion bill introduced in the House. Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., is one of its sponsors, proposing the measure before he was elected to his leadership post. Reps. Andrew Garbarino, R-N.Y., and Chrissy Houlahan, D-Pa., are calling on Johnson and House Minority Leader Hakeem Jeffries, D-N.Y., to include the legislation in the government funding bill Congress is expected to pass before the holidays.

The Defense Department, Homeland Security Department, Federal Aviation Administration and FBI said in a joint statement Monday that there doesn't seem to be anything nefarious about the drones.