--- title: "FBI Baffled by Mysterious “Car-Sized Drones” Circling Over New Jersey" description: "New Jersey residents have been witnessing giant drones flying over their homes for weeks. The FBI is asking for information." date: "2024-12-07" modified: "2024-12-07" authors: - name: "Victor Tangermann" job_title: "Senior Editor" link: "https://futurism.com/authors/victor" url: "https://futurism.com/the-byte/fbi-baffled-mysterious-drones-new-jersey" categories: - "Drones" - "Future Society" - "Robotics" - "Robots and Machines" tags: - "the digest" - "ufos" --- # FBI Baffled by Mysterious “Car-Sized Drones” Circling Over New Jersey ![New Jersey residents have been witnessing giant drones flying over their homes for weeks. The FBI is asking for information.]() *\Image: MendhamMike via Storyful\* ## Unidentified Frickin' Objects Residents of several New Jersey counties have been witnessing giant drones flying over their homes at night [since at least November 18]() — and nobody seems to know where they're coming from or who they might belong to. As [*The Verge* reports](), the FBI's Newark office and Morris County officials issued a [joint statement]() asking the public to come forward with any information they might have over the mysterious "drone activity," including videos. "There continues to be no known threat to public safety," the statement reads. Footage [circulating on social media]() shows sizable unidentified craft lazily circling the night sky. "I included the first part of the video to show that YES they do look like airplanes," one [TikTok user wrote](). "We were trying to be discerning. But then it started behaving bizarre and we quickly realized it really is a drone." ## On the Case The situation has gotten so out of hand that in late November, the Federal Aviation Administration prohibited any drone flights over president-elect Donald Trump's golf club in Bedminster, [*NJ.com* reports](). "We look into all reports of unauthorized drone operations and investigate when appropriate," the regulator said in a statement. "We are working with several of our law enforcement partners to figure out what’s going on," FBI spokesperson Amy Thoreson told *NJ.com*. "Witnesses have spotted the cluster of what look to be drones and a possible fixed-wing aircraft," she said in a [statement to *USA Today*](). "We have reports from the public and law enforcement dating back several weeks." Unsurprisingly, the sightings have quickly turned into a honeypot for conspiracy theories and [UFO truthers](). Others claimed that at least one identified "drone" [was actually a passenger aircraft](). Nonetheless, given the FBI's most recent call for information, the origin of the large drones is still a complete mystery. "People want to know, 'what the heck are they and what are they doing?'" *WPIX* reporter Katie Corrado asked rhetorically during a [recent news segment](). "It's kind of unsettling," one local resident told the station. "They're not up for 15 minutes, they're up for hours." Meanwhile, the [self-appointed "Reddit Bureau of Investigation" is on the case](), calling for volunteers to fly their personal drones to intercept the UFOs. "Does NJ have a drone community, like a group that likes to fly really good drones?" one user [suggested](). "Does NJ have a drone community, like a group that likes to fly really good drones? It would be interesting if they could get together with their drones and try to use them to get closer to the mystery drones." **More on UFOs:** *[Former Military Officials Tell Congress America Has Secretly Recovered Alien Technology]()* ## Author I've been at Futurism since 2017, where my role has evolved to encompass design, writing, and increasingly editing. I've always been fascinated by space exploration and advanced transportation, which I've leaned into by interviewing luminaries in those fields while closely following the dimensions of policy and regulation that allow next-generation projects to succeed -- or, sometimes, to fail. I'm also keenly interested in the effects of generative AI on society, policies, and democratic institutions, as well as clean energy, physics and biology, and the vagaries of tech leadership. My work for Futurism has been cited by publications including Ars Technica, Gizmodo, PC Magazine, Jalopnik, Fox News, and the New York Post. I spent my childhood living in locations including Manila, the Philippines, and Geneva, Switzerland, attended McGill University, and now live in Toronto, Canada. Before Futurism I worked at AskMen and a small photography studio. In my free time, I'm an avid gardener, foodie, and craft beer lover, as well as a maker of artisanal hot pepper sauces. I have a magnificent dog named Freida. ### Author social links [Bluesky]()