Feds, state drone on

Unusual things have been happening in the sky over Middlesex Borough and elsewhere in New Jersey. It’s even spreading to nearby states like New York and Maryland.

You have probably seen or heard about it. If not, don’t fret. You know about as much as others who are familiar with this phenomenon and the related hubbub.

Drones – some estimated to be the size of small cars – have been traveling through the Garden State night. They have turned off their lights at times, seemingly to hinder pursuit. Sometimes, they are spotted in groups. Sometimes, they’ve been spotted moving towards the state from off shore. Sometimes, they’ve hovered over sites considered to be “sensitive” such as Picatinny Arsenal in Morris County or in air space deemed “restricted.”

One thing has been consistent through several weeks of these occurrences dating back to mid-November. No one has received a thorough, official explanation, although there’s been plenty of speculation.

A country that spends immense amounts on espionage and the armed forces, which would likely shoot down one of these objects if it approached an overseas military base, supposedly has no clue.

State officials have been getting heat from their constituents due to the lack of clarity. As politicos are prone to do, they’ve pointed fingers elsewhere, squarely at the federal government.

The feds have been scrambling. White House spokesman John Kirby told reporters on Thursday, Dec. 12: “We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or a public safety threat, or have a foreign nexus.”

Some of the sightings, Kirby added, were likely run-of-the-mill manned aircraft.

That all sounds like an explanation, or at least an attempt to slip one by your audience. If you don’t know what something is, how can you say whether or not it was a threat?

The run-around has even filtered down to local government. Middlesex Borough Mayor Jack Mikolajczyk was one of more than 100 New Jersey mayors who attended a Wednesday briefing in Trenton. The mayors were given one day’s notice of the session. They were not permitted to bring their business administrator or governing body colleagues.

Some mayors and members of Congress have ripped the state and federal government for the lack detailed info. Mikolajczyk was somewhat more diplomatic, but wrote, “While the meeting provided some insight, it also raised more questions.”

Mikolajczyk has posted notes from the session on the municipal web site.

“According to the New Jersey Office of Homeland Security, there is no known credible threat, but the situation remains unresolved,” Mikolajczyk wrote. “The State Police has been investigating for three weeks. The first sighting was Nov. 18 and there have been reports of sightings every night since.”

“Last night (12/10) there were four sightings,” he added. “One-hundred-eighty were reported the night before. The drones fly for 6-7 hours at night. No sightings during the day. They have no radio frequency signals, so they can’t be detected. Their lights shut off when approached. No daytime sightings reported. The state does not have the authority to take one down as the authority in this case belongs to the federal government.”

“They don’t know where they take off from or where they land,” the mayor reported. “They don’t know who owns them or where they are going. They are flying in unrestricted airspace. Their efforts to date have mostly been trying to observe them as policy and legislation prevent additional action without a credible threat.”

“Many of them fly in groups,” Mikolajczyk wrote. “While many of them are in unrestricted airspace they have been spotted around non-military, but essential locations – water supplies and power stations. They mentioned that the federal government is cooperating but did not go into detail as to what they are doing. It was a non-informative response.”

“The state is promoting a ‘See Something, Say Something’ protocol,” he wrote. “Residents may report suspicious drone activity to local law enforcement, or NJOHSP’s Counter-Threat Watch Unit at 866-4-SAFE-NJ (1-866-472-3365) or tips@njohsp.gov.“

Like other mayors, Mikolajjczyk lamented the fact that Gov. Phil Murphy did not attend the meeting.

“I was disappointed that the governor, who requested all the mayors to drop everything (many of us are part time volunteers who work) to come to a meeting, failed to come himself,” Mikolajczyk wrote. A senior State Police officer instead led the session.

While the recent drone sightings have centered on New Jersey, there was a similar flurry in Virginia roughly a year ago.

Langley Air Force Base in Virginia reported multiple drone incursions throughout December 2023. In a statement at that time, the base said that the number of drones fluctuated and they ranged in size and configuration.

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