Over the past month, New Jersey residents have reported strange lights in the sky at night, a wave of reported drone sightings that has caught the attention of local residents, politicians and even President-elect Donald Trump.
Concerned witnesses have described clusters of lights and say they resemble drones hovering over populated areas around the state. As the sightings have spread to New York and Maryland, government officials have failed to calm minds.
So who (or what) is behind the mysterious drone sightings?
Federal authorities have tried to reassure residents that the objects do not appear to have any nefarious effect. The FBI and Department of Homeland Security have said these sightings usually don’t appear to be drones at all.
“Historically, we have experienced cases of mistaken identity where reported drones are in fact manned aircraft or facilities,” the agencies said in a joint statement.
The government also said it has not confirmed the sightings. New Jersey lawmakers say they believe there is more to the story than federal officials have publicly shared.
More: Mysterious drones are swarming the New Jersey skies, but can you shoot them down?
The lack of clear answers has led to rampant speculation and sometimes bizarre or jokey theories.
“The drones in New Jersey are easy to explain. Teams are clearly spying on Jets and Giants practices and that’s why they’ve struggled this season,” former NFL kicker Lawrence Tynes said in a post on X.
“First, a Chinese spy balloon floated through American airspace for a week. Now, unidentified drones are flying over New Jersey, avoiding radar detection. The gaps in our airspace are being exploited, putting the safety of Americans at risk,” wrote New Jersey Representative Jeff Van Drew.
Here’s a look at some possible explanations for the observations – and the evidence for or against the theories. Because the observations have not been confirmed to be related, it is also possible that different observations have different explanations.
Over the past month, New Jersey residents have reported strange lights in the sky at night, a flurry of reported drone sightings that has caught the attention of local residents. These photos were taken on December 8 in Toms River, NJ
Are they really drones?
Government officials have said it is likely that many of the sightings do not involve drones. John Kirby, White House national security communications adviser, said many of the sightings actually involve piloted aircraft flying legally.
Harry Direen, an electronics and software engineering expert at DireenTech, said he wouldn’t be surprised if people initially saw drones, but that once the idea of drones took hold, people assumed that any aircraft they couldn’t identify it was a drone.
“After what were probably valid sightings of possible hobbyist drones, any aircraft may become suspicious,” he said.
Hoaxes, UFOs, witches, drones: NJ is no stranger to strange occurrences
Kirby said at a press conference that authorities have been unable to confirm “any of the reported visual sightings” – despite using “highly advanced electronic detection technologies.”
“The FBI, DHS and our federal partners, in close coordination with the New Jersey State Police, continue to deploy personnel and technology to investigate this situation and confirm whether the reported drone flights are in fact drones or instead manned aircraft or otherwise inaccurate are observations. the agencies said in the statement.
Supervision by a foreign government?
U.S. government officials assured the public this week that the spotted planes do not appear to have been sent by a foreign government, dismissing a theory put forward by Van Drew, who said the drones could be controlled by Iran.
There is no evidence that the drones pose a threat to national security, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security said Thursday. The sightings may actually be piloted aircraft operating legally, the agencies said. Also worth noting: The plane did not fly in restricted airspace, they said.
“To be clear, they have not detected any such malicious activity or intent at this stage,” a joint statement from the agencies said. “While there is no known malicious activity in New Jersey, the reported sightings there highlight the inadequacy of current authorities.”
New Jersey lawmakers told the Asbury Park Press, part of the USA TODAY Network, that they were informed by state police and that authorities did not know where the drones came from and could not detect them.
“Look, I hope it’s not a problem, but the federal government needs to be more honest.” said New Jersey Assemblyman Greg Myhre.
US government drones?
Government officials, including the Pentagon, said the drones spotted by residents in recent weeks are not operated by the U.S. government or military.
It doesn’t seem likely that any government agency would fly the drones over public locations, Direen said.
“Obviously they’re not very stealthy if they are,” he said.
Children playing a prank, or hobbyists?
Could the drones people keep seeing be someone pulling a prank, or drone hobbyists just having fun? It is not illegal to fly drones in New Jersey, but you must meet certain requirements depending on the size of the drone and why you are flying it, according to federal and state law.
If that’s the case, it should be fairly easy for officials to find out, Direen said.
“If the drones are flown legally, the ADS-B transponder on the drone should make it easy for authorities to identify the drone and its operator,” he said.
UFOs?
Could the drones be the work of aliens? At this time, officials have provided no evidence to suggest this, but no evidence to debunk it either. (And many UFO sightings are believed to have a natural explanation.)
“I imagine some alien kids could be flying their toy drones while their parents are busy kidnapping people and conducting experiments on them,” Direen said.
(This story has been updated to correct a spelling/typo and to change or add a photo or video.)
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: ‘Drone sightings’ raise concerns, but there may be an explanation
