More than a year has passed since a series of drone sightings over New Jersey created one of the strangest aviation stories in recent memory. The events started on November 13, 2024, when a large drone appeared inside the restricted airspace of Picatinny Arsenal. This is a major United States Army research center. Residents, officials, and even federal agencies were caught off guard.

As reported by CNY Central, a spokesman for Picatinny Arsenal told reporters that the drones were not part of any military activity and were never approved to fly over the installation. That simple statement fueled days of fear and speculation. Many residents believed they were seeing UFOs. Others believed the UAVs came from a foreign enemy.

More sightings followed. Over the next three weeks, at least ten more reports came in. The last one was recorded on December 6. The sightings were not limited to one area. Witnesses across the region described unusual lights, strange flight patterns, and very large flying objects. Some said they saw clusters the size of school buses.

Rep. Jeff Van Drew said at the time that Iran was likely behind the operation. Those claims spread quickly online, adding to the panic. The Department of Defense under President Biden denied the accusation. They said there was no evidence that any foreign adversary was involved.

When President Trump returned to office, his press secretary Karoline Leavitt repeated the same conclusion. She said that after a full review, the government found no signs that a hostile nation was flying UAVs over New Jersey. Instead she said most of them were actually authorized by the FAA for research flights.

According to Leavitt, investigators learned that several large drones had permission to fly for different testing programs. She said that many of the sightings matched those aircraft.

Officials blame planes and misidentifications yet questions remain

Federal officials also said that some of the sightings were not drones at all. They reviewed flight records and radar data and found that a few reports lined up with regular airplane traffic.

One of the best known examples happened over the Salem Nuclear Power Plant. The object reported by witnesses turned out to be a plane in the area. Another report that diverted a medevac helicopter also turned out to be a misidentified aircraft. In a separate case, a National Guard facility reported a drone, but investigators determined it was a normal plane flying nearby.

Even with those explanations, many sightings still do not make sense. Local leaders say they never received a full briefing. They say they were not told which flights were FAA approved or how large those approved drones were. They also say no one ever told them why so many research drones were flying in such a short period.

Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali said the town was left without answers. He said state police and the FBI brought several mayors together to discuss the issue but admitted they knew very little. He said the agencies told the group that they did not know who the drones belonged to or what they were doing. He said the mystery continues.

The story returned to public attention this week after a new video spread across X. The clip appears to show a very large drone flying at low altitude. Along with the video, a major United States military contractor said that their car sized drone may have triggered the original panic in November 2024. According to the contractor, the aircraft was part of a test program. The video will be added to this article for readers to review.

The new video raises new questions

The drone in the X video is much bigger than the small consumer drones most readers know well. It appears closer to a large unmanned aircraft used for defense testing. Its shape and size match some of the descriptions given by residents last year.

If the contractor’s claim is true, it means at least one of the mystery drones finally has an owner. It also raises another question. Why did it take more than a year for the contractor to acknowledge it? Local officials say they were never told. Residents say they felt ignored during the confusion. Some even wondered if the government hid information.

The FAA has still not released a full list of approved flights during the period. Without that list, it is impossible to compare sightings with known aircraft. Investigators also have not said whether any drones were flying without authorization.

The new information may help bring clarity. It may also add pressure on agencies to explain the remaining sightings. With large drones now operating in busy airspace, residents expect more transparency.

DroneXL’s Take

Large unmanned aircraft are becoming a normal part of research and defense work in the United States. But when these aircraft share airspace with the public, communication matters. A single car sized drone can trigger panic when people have no context. This case shows how important it is for agencies and contractors to share information early. The new video may answer part of the story, but many New Jersey residents still want to know why so many drones were seen and why the explanations took so long.

Photo credit: PSE&G, NBC News