A year on from the start of New Jersey's 'drone hysteria', dozens of unexplained sightings remain shrouded in mystery. The initial incident began with 11 reports over a military base in Morris County, which sparked widespread concern and public fascination.
The first confirmed sighting was on November 13 last year, followed by ten more incidents through December 6, according to the US Army research facility. Witnesses described massive drones, roughly the size of a small school bus, taking control of smaller recreational drones nearby, adding an air of unease to the situation.
Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali revealed a chilling close encounter involving one such giant drone that allegedly took control of his own device while flying in tandem with others. The town's residents were baffled by the frequent sightings, which lasted for weeks and even became normalised as people grew accustomed to seeing multiple drones flying overhead.
Despite local officials' repeated statements saying there was no military activity or approved drone usage on the base, the mystery deepened when eyewitnesses reported seeing drones swarming in groups of two or three. The eerie sight left residents feeling uneasy and authorities still clueless about what's behind these extraordinary events.
As other sightings emerged across the state around the same time, none have been explained by federal or state officials. A Coast Guard patrol spotted a swarm of 12-30 drones over the Atlantic in December last year, prompting concerns but also raising more questions than answers.
Federal and local agencies initially downplayed reports as misidentifications of commercial planes, with TSA assessments dismissing sightings at military facilities and power plants. However, many remain unconvinced by these explanations, with some officials still unsure about what caused the bizarre drone incidents in New Jersey.
The first confirmed sighting was on November 13 last year, followed by ten more incidents through December 6, according to the US Army research facility. Witnesses described massive drones, roughly the size of a small school bus, taking control of smaller recreational drones nearby, adding an air of unease to the situation.
Montvale Mayor Mike Ghassali revealed a chilling close encounter involving one such giant drone that allegedly took control of his own device while flying in tandem with others. The town's residents were baffled by the frequent sightings, which lasted for weeks and even became normalised as people grew accustomed to seeing multiple drones flying overhead.
Despite local officials' repeated statements saying there was no military activity or approved drone usage on the base, the mystery deepened when eyewitnesses reported seeing drones swarming in groups of two or three. The eerie sight left residents feeling uneasy and authorities still clueless about what's behind these extraordinary events.
As other sightings emerged across the state around the same time, none have been explained by federal or state officials. A Coast Guard patrol spotted a swarm of 12-30 drones over the Atlantic in December last year, prompting concerns but also raising more questions than answers.
Federal and local agencies initially downplayed reports as misidentifications of commercial planes, with TSA assessments dismissing sightings at military facilities and power plants. However, many remain unconvinced by these explanations, with some officials still unsure about what caused the bizarre drone incidents in New Jersey.
and idk how ppl rnt like 2 b more paranoid lol! my bf works at a nearby base & we had to do this weird lockdown drill where we all had 2 run 2 our safe zones because supposedly some big drones wud swoop down & take control of smaller ones 
but like no one ever saw anythin actually happenin so idk what the deal is lol 
anyway its been a yr now & im still not over how freaky those things were! anyone else remember seein drones just flyin aroun everywhere? 
. I mean, if they're not even sure what's causing these massive drones taking control of smaller ones, then how can we trust them to handle something like a real emergency? 
It's all about perception vs reality here - are they genuinely clueless or just trying to downplay the situation to avoid freaking out the public? 
The fact that eyewitnesses reported seeing drones swarming in groups, leaving residents feeling uneasy and authorities still unsure... it's like they're hiding something from us. And what about those commercial plane explanations? Come on! We've seen enough movies where drones can mimic real planes to know it's not just a coincidence 
. It's time for our officials to come clean and give us the truth - is this some sort of experimental drone program gone wrong or what? 
It's not like they're trying to hide something, but at the same time, they're saying it's probably just misidentifications of planes or whatever... I'm not buying it. I think we deserve some answers here. How are they gonna explain these kinds of sightings without giving us any info? 
And what if this isn't even related to military activity? What if there's something more sinister going on that we don't know about yet? It's like, super unsettling just thinking about it... We need some real investigation and transparency here! 
And the fact that officials are still saying it was probably just commercial planes or misidentifications... come on, guys 
. I'm not buying the "it's just technology" explanation either. There's gotta be something more to it... or maybe we're just too invested to accept it being a simple glitch 
it's like they're tryin' to freak us out or somethin'. local officials keep sayin' there ain't no military activity goin' on but that don't add up when you got people seein' these giant drones just chillin' in the air. 
and what's even crazier is how some folks are still convinced it's not just commercial planes or misidentifications... i mean, who knows? maybe we're dealin' with somethin' way more complicated than that. 
Those giant drones took over the whole state, man! I'm so glad they finally acknowledged it wasn't just some plane or commercial thing. But still, nobody knows what was going on behind those drone incidents... maybe we'll never know 
federal agencies r dismissin reports as misidentifications, but alot of ppl r stil skeptical 
and i'm lowkey scared rn but at the same time, it's kinda intriguing to think about what could be behind these incidents? maybe its some kinda experimental tech or something? idk but i'm definitely keeping an eye on this one 
! I mean, think about it - we're talking massive drones taking control of recreational ones, like they're some sort of autonomous swarm entity... it's like something straight outta a sci-fi movie 
. And don't even get me started on the Coast Guard spotting swarms of 12-30 drones over the Atlantic - that's just wild 
.
.
. I'm all for exploring the possibilities of drone technology, but this whole situation is raising more questions than answers... and that's just not cool 
. It's like, what are we gonna do with 30+ drones flying around at once? 
.
that we'll never solve 
still so much unanswered questions...
I'm seriously waiting for some kind of answer from these officials, but until then, I'm just gonna be over here, wondering if we've all been replaced by giant robots or something 
.
. But still, the whole "massive drones taking control of recreational ones" thing is wild 
. Shouldn't ppl just chill and wait for some1 to come out & say "hey we messed up"? 
.
.
? Is it some kind of experiment gone wrong or a prank that got out of hand 
. Whoever is behind it, please spill the beans already 
!