‘We Know Nothing’: State, Local Officials Demand Answers About Mystery Drones

New Jersey officials—including more than 500 mayors and other state and local lawmakers—were briefed on the drones by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security (DHS) during a meeting at New Jersey State Police headquarters on Wednesday. Many said they left the briefing frustrated, confused, and with more questions than answers. Several called for the military to intervene. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy did not join the meeting, attendees said.

“We know nothing. PERIOD,” said Dawn Fantasia, a New Jersey assemblywoman who attended Wednesday’s meeting, in a viral post on social media site X. “To state that there is no known or credible threat is incredibly misleading, and I informed all officials of that sentiment.”

At a Congressional hearing Tuesday, a top FBI official said federal investigators have reviewed more than 3,000 alleged sightings of the drones since they were first reported on November 18. The aircraft have popped up over private residences, golf courses, and even military installations across New Jersey—and, more recently, New York and Pennsylvania. One county sheriff’s office in New Jersey released a heat map of the reported sightings.

On Thursday, the DHS and FBI—which began investigating the drones earlier this month—released an official statement downplaying any potential threat from the aircraft. They added that many of the reports may actually be crewed aircraft flying routinely and that no drone sightings have been confirmed in restricted airspace.

“We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus,” the agencies said. “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 actually drones or are instead manned aircraft or otherwise inaccurate sightings.”

As FLYING reported last week, the drones posed enough of a nuisance to thwart the medical evacuation of a crash victim in New Jersey. Bill Addison, public affairs officer for Naval Weapons Station Earle in Colts Neck, New Jersey, told ABC News on Friday that multiple unidentified drones have entered the base’s airspace.

Mid-November sightings at Picatinny Arsenal Military Base and President-elect Donald Trump’s golf course in New Jersey, meanwhile, prompted the FAA to issue temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) “at the request of federal security partners,” the agency told FLYING.

According to Fantasia, DHS officials said the drones are about 6 feet in diameter, capable of remaining aloft for six to seven hours and travelling distances up to 15 miles. That description does not align with camera drones deployed by casual flyers, which are typically a fraction of the size and far less durable. But DHS said the aircraft aren’t theirs.

As many as 180 sightings have been reported every night since the drones were first spotted in mid-November, with most in unrestricted airspace, the assemblywoman relayed. She said DHS does not know where they take off or land and described their behavior as “unusual and potentially nefarious.”

Per Fantasia, officials said the drones fly in a “coordinated manner” with their lights turned off, and they cannot be tracked via radio frequency, infrared cameras, or helicopters. That too is abnormal: The FAA requires all registered drones to broadcast a “digital license plate” with live location and identification information, which can be accessed by local law enforcement and other airspace users.

Some New Jersey police departments have suspended helicopter operations due to safety concerns, Fantasia said. Representative Chris Smith (R-N.J.), who spoke during Tuesday’s Congressional hearing, said he met with a U.S. Coast Guard commander who told him one of their ships was trailed by dozens of drones over the weekend. A Coast Guard lieutenant confirmed the sighting with The Associated Press.

Other local officials echoed Fantasia’s concerns about the lack of transparency into the investigation.

“It’s hard to understand how with the technology we have we aren’t able to track these devices to determine origin, and this makes me much more concerned about our capabilities more broadly when it comes to drone detection and counter measures,” said Senator Andy Kim (D-N.J.) in a thread on X.

Kim on Thursday night went drone hunting with local police officers in central New Jersey, who said they see the aircraft every night after the sun goes down.

The aircraft, which did not show up on flight tracking software, hovered above the treeline in clusters. Some displayed bright white lights while others flashed red and green. But when approached by police helicopters, they went dark, Kim said. He described them as moving in ways an airplane could not, such as flying horizontally in one direction before immediately doubling back in the opposite direction.

Local residents joined to witness the spectacle, telling Kim about their own sightings. The Senator said he has received no follow-up from the FBI on its investigation or the information it has gathered.

On Thursday, Kim and Senators Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.), Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.), and Cory Booker (D-N.J.) penned a letter to the FBI, DHS, and FAA requesting more information about what is being done to combat the problem.

Murphy, meanwhile, wrote to President Joe Biden and Congressional leaders urging more resources to be dedicated to solving the mystery. But local officials—including a group of mayors in Morris County, New Jersey, where the sightings originated—have criticized Murphy’s response as inadequate.

“It is our duty to ensure the safety and well-being of our residents,” the Morris County mayors told the governor in a letter. “However, our efforts to address these concerns have been hindered by the lack of information available to us. This situation is untenable, and we respectfully urge your office to take immediate action to provide transparency and address these issues.”

But even if local law enforcement could track the mysterious drones, they would not have much recourse. That’s because under a 2018 law, only the federal government has the authority to jam or shoot down rogue drones. Individuals that attempt to take them down could face FAA penalties or criminal charges at the federal, state, or local level.

American professional sports leagues, including the NFL and Major League Baseball, have been outspoken about the issue. The NFL, for example, recorded about 2,500 drone incursions over its facilities during the 2022 season, including during games. But stadium security teams cannot do anything about the aircraft without the FBI or DHS stepping in.

Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.) has been one of the most vocal proponents of federal government intervention, telling the AP the drones should be “shot down, if necessary.”

Representative Mikie Sherill (D-N.J.) urged Secretary of Defense Lloyd Austin to communicate guidance to military personnel for shooting down drones over bases. Sherill also called on Austin to devise a revamped counter-drone strategy, a requirement in the proposed National Defense Authorization Act of 2025.

The Morris County Board of County Commissioners on Friday characterized the situation as “a matter of national security” and called on the government to “marshal all federal resources at its disposal, including the military, to end the unauthorized flight of drones.”

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