Mysterious flying drones often figure heavily in conspiracy theories and paranoid delusions alike, but many residents of New Jersey swear something is afoot in the skies over the Garden State. In recent weeks, people have reported large numbers of drone aircraft circling the skies, beginning in New Jersey and now also in other nearby states. Now, even lawmakers are demanding answers, but the US government says the supposed drones are not a threat and may not even be drones.
People have reported unidentified flying objects for as long as air travel has existed. The difference today is that everyone has a 4K video camera in their pocket. Naturally, that means videos of the suspicious drones have been flooding social media for the past month. It’s not unusual to see the occasional drone in the sky. People can buy very capable quadrotor machines for relatively little money, and it’s not illegal to fly them at night. However, New Jersey residents have been reporting large numbers of sightings.
In several videos shared on social media, there are multiple flying objects visible circling an area. It’s possible some of the videos making the rounds are fake, but others are believable enough that the government has been forced to make a statement. According to a joint statement from the FBI and DHS, these objects are not drones being operated by a foreign nation, nor is there any reason to believe they are a national security threat.
“We are supporting local law enforcement in New Jersey with numerous detection methods but have not corroborated any of the reported visual sightings with electronic detection,” the statement reads.
So, what’s going on in the skies of New Jersey? The government statement offers a possible explanation, noting that piloted aircraft are sometimes misidentified as drones when flying at low altitudes. The statement claims that many of the videos being widely shared do show manned aircraft operating lawfully.
Many observers are unconvinced by the government’s statement. This feeling is increasingly reinforced by political forces seeking to undermine the current US administration, accusing the White House of lying or incompetence. Unfortunately, turning these sightings into a political football makes it all the harder to evaluate the claims.
It’s not impossible that something unusual is happening in the skies of the American Northeast. It wouldn’t be difficult for someone to acquire a handful of drones and fly them in groups, but for what purpose? It’s probably safe to assume if these were aircraft controlled by a foreign entity, the government would be openly concerned. Who can forget the Chinese spy balloon fiasco of early 2023? If these are objects operated by the US government, the purpose again is unclear. The government has countless surveillance tools at its disposal—it does not need glowing drones to spy on people.
We should acknowledge the possibility that there may be a touch of mass hysteria involved. These videos are being shot with smartphone cameras, which cannot resolve details on tiny flying objects at night. Zooming in with these videos causes lights to bleed and obscure details, which can make piloted objects like airplanes and helicopters look distorted. Although some videos show multiple flying objects, that’s not necessarily unusual either. There are plenty of places and times you could look up and see multiple blinking lights, which are usually regular aircraft. Toss in an occasional consumer drone, and the skies can suddenly look very ominous if you’ve been primed by social media to draw that conclusion.
But who knows? Maybe the truth is out there.