New Jersey Drone Wave — FAA, DHS, and FBI Response 2024

Beginning around November 18, 2024, and escalating through December 2024, hundreds of reports of unidentified aerial objects flooded law enforcement and government agencies across New Jersey, New York, and surrounding states. New Jersey State Police, local law enforcement, the FAA, the Department of Homeland Security, and the FBI all received reports. Some objects were tracked by FAA radar without corresponding flight plans, consistent with non-cooperative aerial vehicles. The objects were described by witnesses as slow-moving, some with multiple lights, some in formation. New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy stated the state was taking the reports seriously. President Biden was briefed by national security staff. Senator Chuck Schumer publicly demanded that the White House declassify information about the objects. The DHS opened a formal coordination effort. The FBI opened an investigation into the wave. The military acknowledged that some objects had been tracked by NORAD. AARO received hundreds of public and military reports from the affected area. After weeks of sustained media coverage, the DoD issued a statement acknowledging that the vast majority of identified objects were likely commercial or recreational drones or manned aircraft misidentified at night, but acknowledged that some reports could not be attributed. The New Jersey wave was one of the largest US civilian UAP/drone events to generate formal multi-agency government response in the modern era.