Pentagon, Federal Investigators Say New Jersey ‘Mystery Drones’ Remain Unidentified

Micah Hanks·

mystery drones

Welcome to this week’s installment of The Intelligence Brief… as the great New Jersey mystery drone flap of 2024 continues, federal officials remain perplexed by the ongoing sightings of UAVs in U.S. airspace. In our analysis of the ongoing situation, this week we’ll look at 1) what federal authorities have told lawmakers about the incidents in recent days, 2) why some are now calling for “military intervention” with the concerning incidents, 3) what U.S. Coast Guard and New Jersey police have reported about alleged sightings of the mystery drones near the Atlantic Coast, and 4) the far-out theories that have emerged in recent days as the mystery continues.

Quote of the Week

“There will be no answers in the absence of proactivity.” 

– New Jersey Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia

RECENT NEWS from The Debrief

  • News: This week, ongoing sightings of mysterious drones in the skies over New Jersey have sparked alarm among residents. Here’s why the recent incursions reveal a legitimate national security threat. You can catch up on more recent stories linked at the end of this newsletter.
  • Podcasts: This week on The Micah Hanks Program, we take an in-depth look at the ongoing aerial incursions by unidentified drones over New Jersey and the northeast. Meanwhile, on the latest edition of The Debrief Weekly Report, Kenna and Steph illuminate the darkest parts of the deep ocean and discuss the discovery of a brand-new lifeform. You can get all our latest shows and past episodes on our Podcasts Page.
  • Videos: On the latest episode of Rebelliously Curious, Chrissy Newton is joined by Dr. Daniel Ragsdale, a former White House official who discusses the groundbreaking RISE initiative and its efforts to bridge cutting-edge science with government policy. Check out more from The Debrief on our official YouTube Channel.

Feds Maintain the New Jersey Drones Are Still a Mystery

Federal authorities apparently remain stumped by the ongoing drone mystery occurring in New Jersey, as Pentagon officials have now gone on the record stating that the sightings do not involve secret military tests, nor is the DoD aware of any evidence of foreign activity.

The statements, made by Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh on Wednesday, occurred as sightings of the alleged mystery objects are now also being reported in several surrounding states.

Also on Wednesday, New Jersey Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia reported that a briefing of New Jersey State Legislators she and other officials attended at the New Jersey Police Headquarters only underscored how little is known about the drones, their origins, and the intent behind their operations.

“We know nothing. PERIOD. To state that there is no known or credible threat is incredibly misleading, and I informed all officials of that sentiment,” Fantasia said in a posting on social media following the briefing.

Describing common characteristics associated with the mystery drones that were discussed during Wednesday’s briefing, Fantasia also wrote that there were “detection challenges” associated with efforts to track the objects.

“[New Jersey State Police] deployed helicopters over Raritan Bay but could not detect drones, even with infrared cameras,” Fantasia wrote, adding that “Current radio frequencies do not pick up drone signals.”

State Authorities Investigations Calls for “Military Intervention”

“State authorities, including the NJSP, are shackled with what they are able to do,” Fantasia wrote on Wednesday. “Any interception or takedown of any UAS is under the strict jurisdiction of the federal government.”

Expressing concerns over the situation, Fantasia added that “At this point, I believe military intervention is the only path forward.”

“There will be no answers in the absence of proactivity,” she added.

It is important to emphasize that, as Fantasia stated, “Any interception or takedown of any UAS is under the strict jurisdiction of the federal government.” A very legitimate concern that arises from the recent attention the alleged drone sightings over New Jersey have received is the fact that many of the objects being shown in media coverage of the situation and characterized as “drones” are, rather obviously, simply conventional aircraft (see last week’s installment of The Intelligence Brief for more on this point).

“Please don’t shoot at drones,” wrote skeptical analyst Mick West in a posting on X. “Because, based on the last few days, it’s 99% sure you’d be shooting a normal plane or a helicopter. You might kill someone. Or lots of people.”

In a separate posting, West added that even shooting at confirmed drones is illegal. “Shooting at a drone (or even pointing a laser at one) is treated as interference with an aircraft, which is a federal crime,” West wrote.

From the Sea? Coast Guard and Police Report Intriguing Encounters

Given the obvious dangers associated with any efforts—military or otherwise—to bring down any of the suspected mystery drones being observed over New Jersey, Fantasia added on Wednesday that the “US Coast Guard seems to be the most likely to intervene based upon our briefing, but even that component was shrouded in mystery.”

In recent days, some intriguing stories have been shared by elected officials involving alleged U.S. Coast Guard sightings of the drones. Namely, Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) told lawmakers at a hearing on Capitol Hill on Tuesday that he had learned of a 47-foot Coast Guard ship that was reportedly followed by a large group of the mysterious aerial vehicles.

Citing a story shared with him by a Commanding Officer from the U.S. Coast Guard, Smith said on Tuesday that “one of their 47-foot motor lifeboats was followed by between 12 and 30 of these drones as they went through the water.”

Smith also shared a story about a New Jersey law enforcement officer who saw “50 drones come in off the ocean,” an incident which prompted him to visit Island Beach State Park on Monday night with Ocean County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy to see if the objects appeared again.

Wild Claims Continue to Circulate

Amid the concerns being expressed about New Jersey’s ongoing trouble with mystery drones this week, there were also several odd claims being made about the possible origins of the objects.

During an appearance on Fox News, Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) expressed his belief that the drones were being operated by Iran. Citing unnamed sources whom he deemed “very reliable,” Van Drew said “Iran launched a mothership probably about a month ago that contains these drones,” adding that the purported mothership is located “off the east coast of the United States of America.”

“We know it’s not our own government, because they would have let us know,” Van Drew also said. Van Drew provided no context for the claims beyond his belief that the information came “from high sources.”

However, the Pentagon would appear to disagree. During yesterday’s press conference in Washington, Deputy Pentagon Press Secretary Sabrina Singh stated that “there is no Iranian ship off the coast of the United States and there’s no so-called ‘mothership’ launching drones towards the United States.”

Other theories being shared online attribute the sightings to secret tests being conducted by Picatinny Arsenal in Morris County, New Jersey. However, a statement provided to The Debrief earlier this week by officials at Picatinny Arsenal revealed that personnel there had confirmed eleven sightings of what were characterized as unauthorized drone flights, a fact that seemingly rules out experimental aircraft being tested there by U.S. Army personnel.

Meanwhile, others remain dissatisfied with any kind of terrestrial explanations for the sightings, instead pointing to unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAP) as a possibility. Such claims have remained prevalent online in recent weeks, despite most descriptions of the objects featuring characteristics that are commonly associated with drones, even if their origins in this case remain undetermined.

So what are the most likely explanations for the ongoing sightings? At Wednesday’s Pentagon press briefing, Sabrina Singh emphasized that in addition to there being no evidence of involvement by a “mothership” operated by Iran, nor is there any evidence they are associated with any other foreign power, the Pentagon also says they aren’t tests being conducted by our own military.

“These are not U.S. military drones,” Singh told reporters on Wednesday. If this is true, and there is indeed really no evidence of activities by a foreign entity, that would seemingly leave few other options as to their origins.

In light of such statements, while it’s easy to see why some would gravitate toward far-out explanations for the sightings, here at The Debrief our money remains on the concerning possibility that in the days ahead, perhaps there will be additional evidence forthcoming that will link the sightings to foreign activities, even if the Pentagon currently says it has yet to uncover such data.

Until that happens, the persistent sightings of drones over New Jersey and surrounding states will continue to be a mystery, albeit one that is becoming an increasing problem for officials involved in the ongoing investigation.

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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