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2024 Northeastern United States drone sightings

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States in which drone sightings were reported during December 2024, as of December 17, 2024[1]

The 2024 Northeastern United States drone sightings began in mid-November, when numerous reports started circulating about large, unidentified drones appearing at night across several New Jersey counties in the United States.[2][3] Reported sightings later occurred in New York and Pennsylvania,[4][5] and eventually in numerous other U.S. states, primarily in the Northeast.[6][7][8] The reported sightings—largely unconfirmed—have sparked confusion among residents and prompted concerns from local, state, and federal authorities.[9][10] The situation remains unresolved, with investigations led by agencies such as the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and various state police agencies from impacted states in the United States.[11][5]

The Department of Defense (DoD) confirmed the presence of drones in the airspace over military bases and stated they were unaware of the operators of the drones.[12][13] The DHS also confirmed that, while there have been many misidentifications, sightings of real drones have occurred.[14] Civilian and military airfield operations have been interrupted by drones.[15][16] Commentators have offered various explanations, including that the sightings could be attributed to misidentified aircraft and widespread confirmation bias, government activities (foreign or domestic), or commercial operations.[11][17]

A joint investigation by civilian and military agencies of the U.S. government failed to find "anything anomalous" and said that sightings included misidentified celestial objects and lawfully operated manned and unmanned aerial vehicles.[18] State and local law enforcement as well as numerous independent experts reported similar conclusions.[19][20][21] While branches of the U.S. armed forces confirmed repeated drone incursions over military sites,[2] Pentagon representatives indicated that drone flyovers are "not unusual" and are generally not nefarious.[22]

Background

[edit]

Unidentified drones have been reported in the United States for several years prior to current 2024 reports.[23] In December 2023, multiple unidentified drone incursions were reported at Langley Air Force Base in Virginia.[5] Federal authorities acknowledged other sightings within the United States and internationally.[24] In November 2024, similar unexplained drone incursions were also reported at U.S. air bases in the United Kingdom.[25][26] In December 2024, drones were seen over the U.S. air base Ramstein in Germany as well as German arms manufacturing facilities.[27] According to Major General Patrick S. Ryder, it's normal for private drones to periodically fly over U.S. military bases, and such operation was "not unusual, and the vast majority pose no physical threat to our forces or impact our operations".[28]

In 2016, the FAA began working on new technology to detect drone use near airports.[29] Dubbed "Pathfinder", the initiative was organized to address the growing problem of unauthorized hobby drone use in off-limits areas.[29][30] The FAA estimates that, as of 2024, there were approximately 2.8 million commercial and recreational drones operating in the United States.[23] As of 2024, the agency also estimates it receives more than 100 reports of drone sightings each month and organizes a "Know Before You Fly" marketing campaign to educate drone users about unauthorized operation and the potential civil penalties for illicit use.[31]

Reporting on the case of the 2024 sightings, one journalist noted that New Jersey has for generations "played host to stories of the strange and the surreal, including Martian invasions and ghostly treasure guardians".[32] In 1938, some residents of New Jersey erupted into panic after mistaking the fictional CBS Radio drama "The War of the Worlds" for a news report of an alien invasion of Grovers Mill, New Jersey.[33][34]

Reported sightings and drone details

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Initial sightings were reported in Morris and Somerset counties, New Jersey.[35][36] Since then, there have been reported sightings in many other New Jersey counties—including Bergen, Burlington, Camden, Essex, Middlesex, Monmouth, Ocean, Passaic, Sussex, Union, and Warren.[3][37] Sightings later spread to New York City, Orange County (New York), Philadelphia, and various counties in eastern Pennsylvania.[4][38][37][5] Drones sightings have also been reported in Maryland,[39][40] Massachusetts,[41] New Hampshire,[41] Ohio,[14][15] and Connecticut,[15] as well as related sightings noted in Delaware, Virginia, Florida, and California.[42][43][6]

The sightings have occurred over residential neighborhoods,[35] infrastructure such as power plants and transmission lines,[38][44] railroads and highways,[10][45] and natural features like the Raritan River corridor.[46][3] They have also appeared near sensitive sites, including the Round Valley Reservoir, emergency communications centers, and local police stations.[45][44] A drone crashed in the backyard of a private residence in Pequannock Township, New Jersey. Initially reported as “military-grade”, a police investigation later identified it as a toy drone. Officials suggested it was one of many “copycat” drones in the area.[47][48] Staten Island Borough President Vito Fossella reported drone sightings over "critical infrastructure" such as Port Liberty New York, the Goethals Bridge, the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge, and Fort Wadsworth.[15]

Claimants offered various descriptions, including that the drones were as big as SUVs, that they were seen in strong winds,[44][45] that the lights they saw would "go dark" when spotted,[49][50][25][11] that the sightings were clustered in groups,[36][45] that they were sometimes accompanied by loud humming,[45] and that fixed-wing aircraft were sometimes identified in the same vicinity.[51][52][9] Some experts reviewing footage grouped the purported drones into two categories: quadcopters and fixed-wing aircraft.[17]

In a post to his account on X, former Maryland governor Larry Hogan claimed to film dozens of large drones above his home in Davidsonville, Maryland.[39] In response to Hogan, New York Post journalist Steven Greenstreet suggested that the recorded video actually showed the constellation Orion and that, additionally, flight data from the time of the video showed three aircraft flying near where it was filmed.[53] Meteorologist Matthew Cappucci also observed that Hogan was actually viewing the constellation Orion.[54] Users of X subsequently added a community note to Hogan's post asserting that "no anomalous objects appear in his video".[55]

Impacts to government and airspace operations

[edit]

On November 26, 2024, a medical evacuation helicopter in New Jersey was delayed in transporting a seriously injured patient due to nearby reports of drone activity.[36][56] Stewart International Airport in Orange County, NY, was forced to shut down for an hour due to drone activity, which was confirmed by New York governor Kathy Hochul.[57][58][15] Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Ohio was forced to close airspace due to drone incursions on Friday, December 13, 2024, into the next morning, with United States military officials of the 88th Air Base Wing definitively stating the events happened due to "small unmanned aerial systems".[16][59]

There have been multiple confirmed drone sightings by "highly trained security personnel" over Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Weapons Station Earle in New Jersey according to military officials.[2][60][61][12] The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued temporary flight restrictions over Picatinny Arsenal and President-elect Trump's Bedminster golf club.[45][56] Legislators Chris Smith and Paul Kanitra stated that at least a dozen drones followed a United States Coast Guard vessel;[46][62] the Coast Guard confirmed that "multiple low-altitude aircraft were observed in vicinity" of one of their vessels.[38][63][51]

Investigations and findings

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U.S. Department of Homeland Security
@DHSgov
 X logo, a stylized letter X

Having closely examined the technical data and tips from concerned citizens, we assess that the sightings to date include a combination of lawful commercial drones, hobbyist drones, and law enforcement drones, as well as manned fixed-wing aircraft, helicopters, and stars mistakenly reported as drones. We have not identified anything anomalous and do not assess the activity to date to present a national security or public safety risk over the civilian airspace in New Jersey or other states in the northeast.

December 16, 2024[64]

The FBI leads an interagency investigation that includes the DHS, various state police agencies after initially only the New Jersey State Police, and the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness.[65][66] Officials have acknowledged uncertainty regarding the sightings. On December 10, the FBI told congress that despite collecting over 3,000 reports from the public via a tip line, investigators had not determined a full explanation.[67][68][5] Local law enforcement officials voiced concerns over drones' potentially "nefarious" nature.[45][69] According to Ocean County Sheriff's Office, the drones evade detection because they don't emit heat like typical drones.[70]

On December 12, 2024, White House spokesman John Kirby stated that certain drone sightings could not be verified, and that many of the sightings are actually "manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully".[71][11] He said that they have no evidence suggesting the drone sightings pose a security threat or originate from foreign sources, but urged Congress to pass legislation to help authorities address the drone activity.[71][11] That same day, the Department of Homeland Security released a statement that read:[72]

Historically, we have experienced cases of mistaken identity, where reported drones are, in fact, manned aircraft or facilities... upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully. There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted air space.

United States Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas confirmed to George Stephanopoulos of ABC News that Americans are seeing drones, stating, "There’s no question that people are seeing drones. And I want to assure the American public that we, in the federal government, have deployed additional resources, personnel, technology to assist the New Jersey State Police in addressing the drone sightings."[14][73]

New Jersey Assemblywoman Dawn Fantasia shared her notes from a legislative briefing on December 11 with officials from the DHS, the State Police, and the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security.[74][63] She said that the officials described drones measuring up to six feet (1.8 m) in diameter operating for six to seven hours per night, sometimes flying with their lights off.[43][66] Her summary also said the drones "operate in a coordinated manner", evade typical means of detection, and do not appear to be flown by hobbyists.[63] Assemblymen Paul Kanitra and Greg Myhre, who also attended the briefing, said that the briefing's findings seem to contradict the White House's December 12 statements.[62]

The Connecticut State Police announced the deployment of drone detection systems in response to sightings in Connecticut, specifically in Fairfield County.[15] Massachusetts Governor Maura Healey confirmed growing numbers of sightings in that state, and that Massachusetts State Police were working with Federal, state and local authorities on investigations.[15] In Virginia, Governor Glenn Youngkin confirmed the Virginia State Police and other state officials were investigating with Federal authorities due to a “significant number of national security and critical infrastructure sites” in Virginia.[15] Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro ordered Pennsylvania State Police to investigate sightings, and confirmed law enforcement will use helicopters to pursue and determine where the drones originate from and their purpose.[15]

The Joint Chiefs of Staff of the Department of Defense issued a statement on December 14, 2024, confirming certain sightings, that the DoD as of that date was unaware of who operated the drones, and that there was no present indication of involvement by adversary nations.[13] They stated that they "have not been able to locate or identify the operators or the points of origin" for the drones seen over Picatinny Arsenal and Naval Weapons Station Earle.[75][12] They said that they lack the authority required to locate or identify the source of the drones outside the bases, and have to rely on investigation by law enforcement.[75]

On December 16, the Department of Homeland Security issued a follow-up statement to its X account in tandem with the FBI, FAA, and Department of Defense, in which it asserted that the four agencies' investigation had failed to identify "anything anomalous" and that all sightings it had examined as of that date had routine explanations.[18][64] The FBI's Newark field office also issued a request for New Jerseyans to stop firing lasers at things in the sky they thought were anomalous drones due to "an increase of pilots of manned aircraft being hit in the eye with lasers".[76] The FBI further requested New Jerseyans not to shoot into the sky with firearms due to the "possibly deadly consequences" for civil aviation.[76]

State and local investigations

[edit]

According to WVIT-TV, an investigation by the Connecticut State Police "found that most [drone sightings] could be attributed to manned aircraft or those UAS devices operating in the private sector in a legal manner".[19] Governor of Connecticut Ned Lamont noted that one of the reported drones that was sighted "had the word Frontier on the back", apparently indicating it was a Frontier Airlines aircraft.[77]

On December 13, John Mitzak, the chief of the Bridgewater, New Jersey police department, issued a statement that "many of the reports received involve misidentification of manned aircraft".[20] Other New Jersey officials reported on December 17 that specialized "drone-detecting devices" the state had deployed over the preceding week found "little to no evidence" of anything that might constitute a threat.[77]

In Massachusetts on December 15, Boston Police identified three local residents whom they said were operating consumer grade drones in restricted airspace near Logan International Airport.[78] Police found the men operating drones from a position on Long Island and, after a pursuit, arrested two of the three.[78] Both men were arraigned in the Boston Municipal Court and released on personal recognizance.[79]

Responses from elected officials

[edit]
Pentagon deputy press secretary Sabrina Singh addresses statements made by U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew related to the 2024 New Jersey drone sightings during a regularly scheduled press conference on December 12, 2024.

Elected officials have demanded greater transparency and urgency from federal agencies.[80][81] The White House confirmed that President Biden is aware of the situation,[24] and Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas briefed New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy and the state's Congressional delegation on the sightings.[4][10][82] Murphy wrote a letter to Biden expressing his "growing concern" about the drone reports. He urged agencies to work together to uncover answers. He also requested Congress to provide additional powers to state and local police in order to counter drones, and additional funding for those purposes.[43][81][82] New York governor Kathy Hochul also called for additional state and local authority to investigate drone activities.[58]

United States Senator Cory Booker wrote to federal authorities seeking more public disclosure and official briefings for local leaders.[51] New York and New Jersey senators Chuck Schumer, Kirsten Gillibrand, Cory Booker, and Andy Kim, wrote a letter to federal agencies expressing concern, and requested briefings on their efforts to address the "drone incursions".[71][83] Schumer later requested the DHS to deploy specialized drone detection systems to New York and New Jersey. Schumer also said, "It's remarkable" that, despite the numerous sightings, "we have more questions than answers".[7][84]

Congressman Josh Gottheimer introduced legislation to fund advanced drone-tracking technologies, restrict weapon attachments to drones, and penalize interference with emergency services, law enforcement, or military operations.[85] State Senator Jon Bramnick suggested a "limited state of emergency" and a temporary ban on drone use until the situation is resolved.[86] Nineteen local officials from New Jersey, including fifteen mayors, called for enhanced federal engagement.[80]

Congressman Jeff Van Drew claimed that he had information from "very high sources" that "Iran launched a mothership that contains these drones".[87] The Pentagon refuted this, stating there were no Iranian ships off the coast of the U.S., and no evidence that the drones originated from foreign adversaries.[52] New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy also questioned the veracity of Van Drew's claims, suggesting Iran did not have the capabilities to undertake such a mission.[88] In response, according to Politico, Van Drew "appeared to soften his assertion" and also suggested the drones could be "Chinese".[88]

Congresswoman Nancy Mace said she would not rule out the purported drones were from "outer space", "outside the universe", or "Iran or China", and went on to wonder if they might be U.S. drones "looking for a missing nuclear warhead".[89]

Senator Andy Kim joined the Clinton Township Police for a nighttime patrol and reported "a number of different drones" near the Round Valley Reservoir, though later acknowledged "most of the possible drone sightings that were pointed out to me were almost certainly planes".[90][91][92]

President-elect Trump and several lawmakers suggested that the U.S. military should shoot down unidentified drones.[93][63] Trump later posted an AI-generated image to his X and Truth Social accounts that, according to New Jersey Advance Media, depicted former New Jersey governor Chris Christie "chowing down on a McDonald’s meal ... while several drones delivering more food" approached him.[94][95][96][97] On December 16, Trump stated the United States government knew exactly what was responsible for the drones and called for the information to be released.[98]

Proposed explanations

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Military, domestic and foreign

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Some[who?] have suggested that the sightings could be explained by the U.S. military testing new systems.[17] Former defense official Michael Horowitz disagreed, saying "there are ranges and places where you would test those systems" and that New Jersey residents wouldn't be seeing them regularly.[17] Lawmakers and civilians proposed foreign countries as the source of the sightings, but federal investigators have repeatedly rejected this notion.[17][52][71] Former U.S. Air Force general James Poss is skeptical of this explanation because the aircraft use FAA-compliant lighting: "When people turn their lights on their drones off at night, it tells you it's the world’s worst terrorist or exactly the kind of enemy you want to fight."[17]

Misidentification

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Drone expert William Austin claimed his analysis of imagery and reports related to the sightings led him to believe that "many of the reported 'large drones' were actually manned aircraft mistakenly identified" while others were the lights of cell towers, or smaller, personal use drones.[99][21] By December 15, Austin reported having completed review of a large amount of video of the sightings and had come to the conclusion that "100 percent of them are either airplanes that people have misidentified or drones that have grown in use since the media attention and are under 55 pounds".[100] In some cases, according to Austin, misidentification might be the result of the parallax effect.[21] Asked by a reporter from WNEP-TV to analyze video of the drone sightings, the owners of three different UAV retail stores said they felt most of the objects spotted were either manned aircraft or the result of "nighttime illusion".[101] Vijay Kumar of the University of Pennsylvania School of Engineering and Applied Science said that most of the images he saw in relation to the sightings were of legally operating aircraft and that popular fear about drones was due to their association with "science fiction-like scenarios where machines have autonomy".[102] Brandon Valeriano, a professor at Seton Hall University specializing in cybersecurity, indicated the sightings were probably connected to hobbyist UAV use, that some members of the public had sought "wild explanations for the things they can’t understand".[103]

Former United States Representative Adam Kinzinger told CNN on December 15 that he'd spent "days looking at every one of these videos" of the drones and concluded "they're all literally airplanes".[104] Kinzinger went on to explain to anchor Fredricka Whitfield that members of the public were panicking over aerial objects they wrongly perceived to be something other than high-altitude jets.[104] Tom Adams, a private sector counter-drone defense consultant and former FBI agent, said that — in his experience — satellites, aircraft, and celestial objects were often misidentified as drones and that media coverage of the purported sightings was creating "a little hysteria".[105]

Amie Gallagher, director of the planetarium at Raritan Valley Community College in Branchburg, New Jersey, interviewed about possible explanations for the sightings, observed the phenomenon of autokinesis in which a person, staring at a celestial object, experiences "the muscles in ... their eye try[ing] to focus on the object" which creates the illusion of motion.[106] Joshua Tan, a professor of astronomy at LaGuardia Community College, suggested that the widespread nature of the sightings might be a case of confirmation bias in which the public were misinterpreting mundane or routine phenomena.[107] Skeptic Mick West has also suggested many of the sightings were cases of misidentification and videos claiming to show drones with unusual characteristics could be explained by the poor quality of smartphone camera optics.[108] Jamey Jacob attributed the sightings to misidentification "largely driven by social media and the inability to determine what's real and what's not".[28] Jacob also noted that reported drone sightings near military facilities were probably mostly "careless actors, rather than those trying to pose a legitimate threat".[28]

Other explanations

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In a December 13 column for the Washington Post, Max Boot suggested the sightings could be at least partly explained by "mass hysteria" which, he noted, was "a recurring feature of American life".[109] The War Zone's Tyler Rogoway also suggested "mass hysteria" and misidentified aircraft could be the cause of the wave of sightings.[110] Writing in Reason, Matthew Petti observed that "the mass panic about a drone menace is also causing people to connect unrelated incidents and see things that aren't there".[111] The New Jersey sightings have drawn comparisons to similar drone reports in Colorado in 2019.[112] At the time, the Colorado Department of Public Safety reconnaissance aircraft responding to reports were unable to find any signs of illegal activity.[112] A reporter later characterized the 2019 to 2020 Colorado incident as a case of "mass hysteria", but others contested this.[113] In regard to the prior Colarado situation, University of Auckland medical sociologist Robert Bartholomew said that a more precise term would be "social delusion" which describes a sociological as opposed to medical phenomenon.[114] Andrew McCarthy, a space photographer, said that "every single video I’ve analyzed of this phenomenon has been either a normal helicopter or plane" and that the sightings had "become a social contagion where people are going outside and watching air traffic for the first time and assuming it’s unknown aircraft".[115]

Historian and UFO researcher Mitch Horowitz has stated that this is the first time he had seen this level of sighting of unidentified aerial phenomena, or UAPs.[116] Charlie Kirk claimed the drones were part of a historical conspiracy theory created by Canadian conspiracy theorist Serge Monast called Project Blue Beam, where NASA with the United Nations would allegedly create New Age religions worshipping the Antichrist.[117]

Corporations have been put forward as a possible source of the sightings.[17] The president of the New Jersey Innovation Institute, which runs a drone program for companies and government agencies, considers this notion "very unlikely," saying that if a company was behind it, they would have stopped by now.[17]

See also

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References

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