New Jersey's 2024 Drone Mystery: Police Documents Reveal Alarming Details
In 2024, mysterious drones over New Jersey captivated the nation, leaving Americans anxiously scanning the skies for answers. Now, newly released documents obtained by The War Zone through the Freedom of Information Act unveil what police officers on the ground actually witnessed during this perplexing episode.
Coordinated Formations Over Critical Sites
The records detail officers across the state observing large, unidentified drones flying in coordinated formations, sometimes in groups exceeding a dozen aircraft. Several reports indicated these drones hovered ominously over critical infrastructure, including reservoirs, power substations, research laboratories, and military facilities. In one particularly concerning incident, multiple drones forced a New Jersey State Police medevac helicopter to abort a landing, with several appearing to follow it to an alternate location.
Air traffic controllers also reported unidentified drones penetrating restricted airspace near Trenton-Mercer Airport, reaching speeds approaching 170 miles per hour, which prompted urgent warnings to pilots. Other officers described triangular or fixed-wing drones significantly larger than consumer models, some reportedly the size of a small car and potentially capable of jamming radar signals.
Internal Warnings and Escalating Concerns
The thousands of pages of emails, police reports, and internal memos reveal law enforcement officials repeatedly expressing concerns that the aircraft could be military-grade and potentially carrying explosive payloads. The earliest warnings emerged on November 18, 2024, when Watchung Police Captain Sherif Zaiton alerted officers to "rogue drone flights" reported across the county.
"There have been reports county-wide of rogue drone flights, multiple drones flying in pattern over sensitive sites," Zaiton wrote in an email to officers. Because former President Donald Trump frequently visited the region at the time, Zaiton instructed officers to immediately report any sightings. The following day, Peapack and Gladstone Police Chief Stephen Ferrante warned other departments that "multiple reports of large drones" had already been received in the area.
Multi-Agency Coordination and Heightened Alert
Authorities quickly recognized the seriousness of the situation, involving multiple agencies. Emails show local police coordinating with county officials, the New Jersey State Police, and the FBI as reports proliferated across the state. In one message, Watchung Police Chief Scott Anderle warned that the aircraft were "far bigger than typical hobbyist models" and might require special Federal Aviation Administration licensing.
He also cautioned officers to treat the drones as potentially dangerous, stating, "The size of the recent drones encountered makes them potentially military grade," and advising them to call bomb squads if one landed. Shortly after, another update suggested the aircraft were deliberately flying around county communications towers, with Zaiton emphasizing in a follow-up message, "We are being told to very much consider that these drones could be carrying an explosive payload."
Specific Incidents and Unusual Capabilities
Police reports from across New Jersey document officers repeatedly spotting drones flying in groups and following similar flight paths. On November 19, a Raritan Borough police officer reported observing two fixed-wing drones flying at about 400 feet above ground along nearly identical routes, with another smaller quadcopter-style drone seen traveling in the opposite direction.
As sightings escalated, federal authorities intervened. On November 22, a counterterrorism coordinator with the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office sent an alert to local departments at the request of the FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force, urging patrol officers to immediately report sightings of suspicious unmanned aircraft. "Some of these unknown fixed-wing drones have been quite large," the alert noted, adding concerns that they were being spotted near power lines, substations, and military installations, with a message highlighting, "There is a concern this could be 'out of country' nations."
Notable Encounters and Operational Interference
Over the following days, police logged an increasing series of sightings. On November 24, officers responding to a report near a reservoir and sewage plant in Parsippany observed more than 13 drones flying north through the area for nearly half an hour, though their design and size remained unidentified. Authorities requested that the New Jersey State Police monitor nearby highways due to the presence of critical infrastructure, including water treatment facilities.
Two days later, another officer in Branchburg reported spotting a drone hovering above a power switching station. When the officer approached, the aircraft suddenly switched off its navigation lights and flew away, with two more drones appearing behind the property and heading north within minutes. The drones also interfered with emergency operations; that same evening, a New Jersey State Police medevac helicopter attempting to land at Raritan Valley Community College was forced to abort its landing after firefighters spotted multiple drones in the area, with officers reporting that several drones appeared to follow the helicopter as it diverted.
Advanced Technology and Sensitive Locations
Police described unusual drone shapes and formations, such as an officer in Fair Hills reporting about ten large drones moving along a highway corridor at altitudes between 200 and 400 feet. These aircraft were triangular, significantly larger than typical consumer drones, and equipped with strobing red and white lights. Other sightings suggested even more advanced capabilities; at Trenton-Mercer Airport in early December, air traffic controllers tracked several unidentified aerial vehicles flying through restricted airspace, with one officer reporting radar speeds reaching about 150 knots, roughly 170 miles per hour.
This activity prompted airport officials to issue a Notice to Airmen warning pilots about drone activity near the airport. In another incident, Essex County Airport officials told police they believed the drones were using "sophisticated radar jamming technology" after the aircraft appeared invisible to radar systems. Some of the most alarming sightings occurred near critical government facilities; on December 8, officers at the Federal Reserve building in East Rutherford reported seeing three drones hovering about 100 feet above the parking lot, with one described as roughly the size of a motor vehicle, and photographs taken by police attached to the report.
Widespread Reports and Unanswered Questions
Law enforcement also reported drones flying near hospitals, research laboratories, and federal restricted airspace. At the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, staff reported about 11 drones flying near the facility for more than 20 minutes, with five reportedly entering restricted federal airspace. Sightings were also reported over major medical centers in the state, including Princeton Medical Center and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
Despite the sheer volume of reports, no arrests were made, and authorities never publicly identified who was operating the drones. While many sightings were ultimately attributed to misidentified aircraft or celestial objects, the police records reveal that officers across the state repeatedly encountered unusual aerial activity they could not immediately explain. These firsthand reports, from local patrol officers to federal investigators, underscore the significant uncertainty that surrounded the mysterious drone activity gripping New Jersey during the winter of 2024. And even now, the documents suggest one lingering question remains unanswered: who was behind these sophisticated and potentially threatening drones?
