The New Jersey residents spotted mysterious UFO drones, flying over the buildings, brightening up the dark night sky.
When first spotted, some people felt that it was a plane, some thought it was a helicopter, and some thought it was a UFO. Several weeks ago, whilst driving with her children Kat Dunbar, a 37-year-old acupuncturist, noticed this peculiar sight, New York Times reported.
“I was like, ‘What is that? Is that a UFO?'” said Dunbar. “And we watched it the whole way home.” They were drones, she realised.
“In the last week, it became a little bit of a menacing and, like, creepy thing,” Kat Dunbar said.
Several videos on the online space are being circulated claiming that they observed an UFO in sky.
“Morris county drones they just kept coming #nj drones #ufo # New Jersey drones #drones NJ,” a user said on X while another user said, “Triangle Shaped “Drones” spotted over New Jersey tonight from multiple witnesses.”
Since mid-November, drone sightings have been reported across at least 10 New Jersey counties. These devices have been observed near critical infrastructure, including reservoirs, power lines, railways, residential areas and motorways. They typically operate in groups, producing a distinctive hum that Nick Dunbar, 39, likens to electric vehicle sounds. These drones appear substantially larger than standard consumer models.
The Federal Aviation Administration responded by implementing temporary drone restrictions over a Morris County military facility and a golf club owned by President-elect Donald Trump. On November 26, drone activity prevented a medical helicopter from retrieving an accident victim in Somerset County, according to NJ.com.
State officials maintain these drones pose no public danger, yet questions about their operators and purpose remain unanswered.
Local law enforcement expresses concern about these sightings. Florham Park’s police chief described the drone presence as “nefarious in nature”. Hunterdon County officials reported drone activity near their emergency communications centre and Round Valley Reservoir, New Jersey’s largest water source.
The sightings have spread to southern New Jersey, Philadelphia suburbs and coastal areas. Staten Island residents have reported drones near Howland Hook Marine Terminal and the west shore. Borough President Vito Fossella requested FBI and FAA investigation, describing the situation as “odd and quite bizarre”.
The FBI’s Newark office encourages public reporting of drone-related information through their tip line or website.
On Thursday, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy announced via social media his office’s active monitoring of the situation alongside law enforcement, confirming “no known threat to the public at this time”.
The US department of homeland security had not responded to enquiries by Saturday evening.
Similar incidents have occurred near American military installations. Last December, drones surrounded Langley Air Force Base in Virginia for 17 days, with comparable sightings near a California base this year.
Recently, the US Navy reported “small unmanned aerial systems” near four US military bases in Britain. Pentagon officials, whilst taking these reports seriously, stated they caused no “significant mission impact”.