If you’ve spent any time on social media over the last few weeks, mentions of a rash of mysterious drone sightings throughout the state of New Jersey have been more or less unavoidable. Originally isolated to the Northern portions of the state, the reports have subsequently spread to include most of New Jersey, including some in Cape May County.

As of now, no individuals, agencies, companies, or organizations are claiming ownership of the drones, and the Federal government has stated that they do not know who is responsible for them, where they are originating from, or what their purpose might be. A host of photographs and videos purporting to show the drones have flooded the internet in recent days, though thus far none of them show anything convincing.

New Jersey “drone”, December 5, 2024
byu/littlespacemochi inaliens

Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R), who represents our area mentioned the drones in a recent appearance on the Fox News channel. In it he claims that “Iran launched a mothership, about a month ago, that contains these drones. That mothership is off, I’m gonna tell you the deal, it’s off the East coast of the United States of America. They’ve launched drones, everything that we can see or hear, and again these are from high sources. I don’t say this lightly.” The Pentagon has denied the presence of any such Iranian vessel and is also advising people not to take any actions against any possible drones they might see out of concerns for public safety.

Congressman Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) just said this on Fox News…
NJ drones are Iranian and launched from a mothership located off the east coast… pic.twitter.com/cQB4udzsyD

— Joe Lnu (@joe_Lnu) December 11, 2024

Pentagon: No evidence it’s any foreign entity. It’s not Iran. It’s not our own tech. Which leaves…?
byu/APensiveMonkey inUFOs

Van Drew has also testified about the drones before Congress and sent a letter requesting support on the matter from the Biden administration.

The Cape May County Bounty Board of County Commissioners has also released a statement about the drones. It states that Commissioner Director Len Desiderio met with County Office of Emergency Management Director Christopher Leusner on December 11th to discuss possible actions the County can take in the matter. Desiderio is quoted as saying, “It is a bit disconcerting that it appears that the origins and landing locations of these drones have not yet been identified. It is somewhat reassuring that the drones have apparently not engaged in any hostile actions in other parts of the state, but we want to be prepared in Cape May County to be able to advise the public and perhaps bring in assets to track these UAVs in order to ensure public safety should they begin to appear in large numbers over our part of the state.”

Leusner states, “We are asking the public to stay engaged on these issues, but to do so calmly and not attempt to interfere with or bring down a drone if one is spotted. Our local, state and federal partners are working diligently to find answers to the questions surrounding these UAV sightings.”

The drones seem to appear only at night and are reported to be very loud and well lit, though some witnesses claim that they turn their lights off when aircraft approach. There are also unconfirmed claims that they range in size from a standard commercial drone up to an automobile. There have been no reports of the drones engaging in any hostile behavior.

Any sightings of or concerns about the drones can be sent to the Cape May County Office of Emergency Management here: https://capemaycountynj.gov/149/Emergency-Management

Additionally, you can report them using the office’s non-emergency phone line 609-884-9500 or the FBI suspicious activity number 1-800-225-5324.