“Drone Fever” Strikes Eastern U.S. as FBI Joins Investigations of Alleged Mystery UAVs

Micah Hanks·

drone New Jersey

Welcome to this week’s installment of The Intelligence Brief… recently, residents in northern New Jersey have reported more sightings of “mystery drones,” leading to sensational media coverage amid an investigation of the incidents that now includes involvement by the FBI. In our analysis this week, we’ll be looking at 1) how recent sightings of drones in New Jersey became the latest media sensation, 2) how the incidents have prompted a response from local officials, 3) what many of the videos of sightings appearing online actually reveal about the incidents, and 4) why some genuine drone sightings remain a possibility as the mainstream media clumsily fuels what has become the latest “mystery drone” flap.

Quote of the Week

“There continues to be no known threat to public safety.”

– Morris County, New Jersey, Prosecutor’s Office Statement

RECENT NEWS from The Debrief

Mystery Drones Over New Jersey?

For several days, northern New Jersey residents have reported sightings of what they have called “mystery drones,” with many taking to social media to post images and videos of the objects they believe are making incursions into American skies.

The New Jersey sightings follow a recent spate of similar incidents over U.S. military facilities in the United Kingdom, where military officials acknowledged several incursions by small unmanned aerial systems (sUAS) of unknown origin, which occurred over several RAF airbases between the nights of November 20th and 26th (for more on these incidents, see last week’s report that appeared in The Intelligence Brief).

The recent sightings over New Jersey began receiving media attention earlier this week, which included a segment on NBC’s Hallie Jackson Now that, in addition to showing videos of the alleged “mystery drones,” also revealed the Federal Bureau of Investigating was looking into the incidents.

“We’re all completely unnerved,” said Julie Shavalier, one resident of Morris County, New Jersey, who was quoted in the NBC report.

State Officials Respond to Alleged Drone Incidents

On Tuesday, the Prosecutor’s Office of Morris County, New Jersey, issued a joint public statement on the alleged recent drone activity occurring over the northeastern U.S., where they maintained that there has been no indication of threat posed by the reported drone activity.

“County and local law enforcement agencies are aware of the recurring reports of drone activity around Morris and Somerset counties,” the statement confirmed, adding that county officials “acknowledge the public’s concern about these repeated sightings.”

The advisory stated that the offices of the County Prosecutor, local Sheriff, Emergency Management Offices, and municipal police departments are all currently “working in close cooperation with the FBI-Newark, New Jersey State Police and New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness partners,” adding that officials hoped “to reassure the public that we will continue to monitor and investigate the drone activity.”

“There continues to be no known threat to public safety,” the advisory emphasized, though requesting that the public report any unusual activity to the FBI’s Newark Field Office and the New Jersey State Police.

Mystery Drones, or Misidentified Aircraft?

Arguably, there is likely to be something behind at least some of the recent reports, especially for the FBI to have become involved with the investigation into the alleged drone sightings.

That can be true, however, while also acknowledging that many of the images and video reportedly depicting “mystery drones”—which are now appearing online and in recent mainstream media coverage—show objects with lighting configurations and other features consistent with conventional aircraft.

Some of the witness descriptions of the “mystery drones” are equally telling. “They made kind of a low hum similar to what you would expect from a plane, a smaller plane,” one witness recently told ABC News about her sightings.

Another sighting shared by a Fox News affiliate station similarly appears to depict a plane flying at low altitude as witnesses describe their observation while the perceived “drone” passes overhead.

“This one is extremely low,” the witness can be heard saying as the object passed overhead. “It’s loud, and it’s huge,” she adds.

“It’s so much closer in person,” another witness can be heard saying before the initial speaker remarks that the object “looks like a spaceship.” However, very unlike any otherworldly spaceship, the “drone” filmed by the witnesses in this instance clearly has the shape of a conventional airplane, and a lighting configuration that matches current Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) requirements.

Mystery Drones… with FAA Lighting Configurations

According to federal aviation regulation 91.205(b), aircraft are required to be equipped with anticollision lights, which must be turned on while the aircraft is in operation. These include navigation or “position” lights, with a red light appearing on the left wingtip and a green light on the right side of the aircraft, as well as a white tail light.

“Like, that doesn’t look like a drone, right?” the witness can be heard saying in the video shared by Fox5 New York as the aircraft passes overhead. While this is being said, one can clearly see a red light on the left wingtip, a green light on the right wingtip, and a blinking white light on the tail, in addition to prominent landing lights visible beneath the fuselage.

Sharing the video on their official X account, Fox5 New York characterized the footage as being “video of the mysterious flying objects from Mendham Township.” However, as the witness correctly assessed, the object “doesn’t look like a drone” because it is, in fact, most likely just an airplane descending on final approach for landing at one of the many busy airports in the region.

aircraft
Alleged “mystery drone” photographed over New Jersey, which displays conventional passenger plane shape and lighting configuration consistent with FAA positon lights required for aircraft operation in the United States (Credit: Fair Use/X.com/Fox5 New York).

This assessment is likely to cause unrest among some who have attempted to argue the case for anomalous characteristics displayed by some of the objects recently filmed over the northeast. Again, it is still entirely possible that there may have been some sightings of actual drones over New Jersey, and as noted earlier, the FBI’s involvement in the investigation would seem to lend merit to such a possibility. Additionally, it’s worth acknowledging that at least some online videos and imagery shared in recent days appear to show objects that could represent genuine UAVs instead of misidentified aircraft.

However, equally likely is the fact that, as news of any legitimate drone sightings that may be occurring began to receive media attention, more people began watching the night sky and, as the case above clearly illustrates, filming conventional aircraft and calling them drones.

“It’s a flap,” said Mick West, a skeptic and self-described UFO analyst, in a posting on X. “People are excited about possible UFOs or drones. They look at the sky, don’t understand what they are seeing, and misidentify high planes as low drones.”

“It happens a lot,” West added.

Obviously, in many cases, the mainstream media has simply shared the videos without any attempt to identify the objects that were filmed, which thereby contributes further to what has now become a “flap” of alleged mystery drone sightings. Again, while it is possible that some of these sightings may involve genuine drones, it’s important to acknowledge that many of the so-called “mysterious aerial objects” featured in media coverage are simply airplanes.

Equally worthy of acknowledgment is the media’s lackluster reporting on this issue, which has failed in nearly every instance to provide any of the proper context or investigation the situation warrants.

That concludes this week’s installment of The Intelligence Brief. You can read past editions of our newsletter at our website, or if you found this installment online, don’t forget to subscribe and get future email editions from us here. Also, if you have a tip or other information you’d like to send along directly to me, you can email me at micah [@] thedebrief [dot] org, or Tweet at me @MicahHanks.

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