Unidentified drone flies over US military facility
US Navy/Ensign Drew Barbis
A mysterious drone has been flying over New Jersey and neighboring states for a month. They have been spotted over several US military installations. They are filmed on video from the top of residential and apartment buildings. A swarm was seen chasing a U.S. Coast Guard rescue vessel at the same time New Jersey State Police reported 50 drones arrived on land from the sea. But no one seems to know who’s behind the wheel or whether it’s an organized effort.
The incident has attracted the attention of state governors, lawmakers and members of Congress, and the FBI has launched an investigation asking the public to report any sightings.
Witnesses said the drones are as noisy as lawnmowers, some are the size of small cars, and are much louder than the typical quadcopter and multicopter drones that anyone can buy. “These aren’t necessarily just small hobbyist unmanned aircraft systems that you can buy for $2,000,” said Daniel Gerstein of the California think tank Rand Corporation. “These feel like they have longer range and are more sophisticated than what you can get at a hobby shop.”
A flurry of blurry nighttime videos have been popping up on social media sharing drone sightings in states like New Jersey, Pennsylvania and New York, including one over the Verrazzano-Narrows Bridge in New York City. It also includes a video showing the drone. The Federal Aviation Administration has imposed restrictions on drone flights over Trump National Golf Club and Picatinny Arsenal military base in New Jersey after reports of drone activity in the skies. This sighting coincides with other drone swarms that have recently appeared near British military bases where US Air Force squadrons operate.
On December 10, the House Homeland Security Committee held a hearing on the drone threat with officials from the FBI, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, and the U.S. Department of Justice. Officials said recent sightings may include a mix of rotary-wing and fixed-wing drones, but they aren’t sure what the drones are doing or who is piloting them. Little information was available. However, he said drones are not yet a serious threat. In a separate briefing, the Department of Homeland Security told lawmakers that some of the sightings may have been mistaken for planes and drones.
New Jersey Mayor Ryan Hurd said: ABC News Live Officials said they confirmed that these were not U.S. military drones and were not operated by a U.S. tech company.
Meanwhile, in the UK, Defense Minister Vernon Coker told parliament last month that authorities were investigating multiple drone incursions near British military bases since November 20. These bases support U.S. Air Force squadrons that fly fighters, bombers, and support aircraft.
“The common theme in all of these incidents is that no one has fully cracked the code on how to spot, track, and, if necessary, shoot down small drones,” said Davidson, a journalist who writes about drones. says author Arthur Holland Michel. “The second common theme is that the challenge of countering a drone is through the roof when the person operating the drone is actively trying to avoid being identified.”
Although drones can be tracked with radar and other sensors, “it is still not practical to cover every corner of the country with detection and tracking systems,” and officials say “most of our country’s airspace does not allow drones at all.” Michel says that they are often “unrecognizable.” “As a general rule, by the time a citizen spots a drone and reports it or photographs it with a cell phone, it’s too late[to take early action],” he says.
Gerstein said there is uncertainty about who has the primary authority and responsibility to take action against these drones, between local law enforcement and state and federal agencies. Even if they are resolved, finding the best way to deal with them is not easy.
Either directly shoot down the drone using missiles, lasers, bullets, or even other drones, or take control of the suspicious drone and use electronic warfare signals to force it to land, Gerstein said. There are many countermeasures against drones. Such techniques have been commonly used during the drone-heavy war in Ukraine, while U.S. Navy warships and other naval vessels shot down dozens of drones threatening shipping in the Red Sea region.
“When shooting down a drone, the most effective means are often the most dangerous,” Michel says. “There is no way law enforcement could fire a sophisticated projectile into the air or activate a military signal jamming device every time a drone is spotted flying over New Jersey.”
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