One possible source of the drone reports that have spurred rampant speculation in New Jersey − the Picatinny Arsenal military research center in Morris County − apparently can be ruled out, according to a statement released Tuesday by the base commander.
Picatinny, where some of the initial reports of unusual drone activity began last month, has recorded 11 confirmed sightings over the facility since Nov. 13 and seven reports that either could not confirmed or turned out to be airplanes, Lt. Col. Craig Bonham II said in a news release.
“While the source and cause of these aircraft operating in our area remain unknown, we can confirm that they are not the result of any Picatinny Arsenal-related activities,” Bonham said.
Asked whether that was an unusual level of activity, a Picatinny spokesman said the base did not track drone reports and referred questions to the Federal Aviation Administration.
Is it a drone? An Asbury Park Press photographer snapped this picture Sunday evening of an airborne object flying above the Bay Shore section of Toms River. Drone reports have proliferated in New Jersey.
“Confirmed” means that a Picatinny police officer or security guard visibly witnessed a drone after or while receiving the report, according to the statement. “Unconfirmed” reports indicate an officer received a call but was unable to verify the nature of the object after arriving on the scene.
Accounts of nighttime drone activity have multiplied and spread throughout the state since the first reports in mid-November, creating a furor on social media and cable news. On Monday, Gov. Phil Murphy said the state had received 49 drone reports on Sunday alone. While some turned out to be planes or duplicate reports, authorities are nonetheless taking the situation “deadly seriously,” he said. In Morris County, residents and local officials said they are still waiting for adequate answers from the federal and state agencies.
“It’s starting to make people squirm,” Mine Hill Mayor Sam Morris said Tuesday. “So today, we’re looking for a little more squirming. A little more discomfort at higher levels … The Air Force, Homeland Security and the FAA need to step up and start either getting the answers on what’s going on, or let us know [what] they know.”
The Picatinny release included a list of 18 reported sights of alleged drones received by the Picatinny Arsenal Police Department between Nov. 13 and Dec. 6.
“Since receiving initial reports of the sightings a few weeks ago, Picatinny Arsenal officials immediately began investigating and increased outreach/coordination with several local, state and federal partner organizations to obtain more information,” Bonham stated.
More: Is it a drone? A plane? Our experts weigh in on recent lights in North Jersey’s night sky
FAA, FBI mum on NJ drones, as mayors fume
FBI and FAA officials investigating the case continue to draw the ire of local officials fielding a nightly stream of calls from residents expressing their own anxieties and alleged eyewitness accounts.
High on the list of those demanding answers is Morris, who in recent days has been interviewed on several national TV news outlets. He shared a video he shot Dec. 4 of what he believes to be drones flying over his town.
“A resident texted me and said they had seen eight drones over the municipal complex so I got dressed, came around and I shot a video myself over Fireman’s Field,” Morris said. “There were several drones, with a stationary drone and other drones going back and forth in what I would call a predefined pattern. That’s what got me started on heightened attention to this.”
Since then, frustrated by the lack of updates from state and federal officials, including a chat he had with Gov. Phil Murphy, Morris and 18 other Morris County mayors issued a weekend letter on the drones requesting assistance from law enforcement agencies, the Federal Aviation Administration, the federal Department of Homeland Security and the New Jersey State Police.
The letter says those agencies have taken “a reactive instead of proactive approach.”
“We took the polite approach for a while,” Morris said. “So finally we decided we would do a press release and start ratcheting this up a little bit.”
A still photo from another video purporting to show drone activity over New Jersey.
The last federal update on the drone mystery from the FBI, issued on Dec. 3, was a joint statement with the New Jersey State Police and state Office of Homeland Security and Preparedness asking the public for information related to “the recent sightings of possible drones flying in several areas along the Raritan River.”
In Washington on Tuesday, federal law enforcement officials and private-sector stakeholders were scheduled to testify before two House of Representatives Homeland Security subcommittees about threats posed by drones or other unmanned aerial systems.
Morris planned to spend much of Tuesday doing media interviews about the drone concerns.
List of Picatinny drone reports
The following is a list of drone sighting reports received by the Picatinny Arsenal Police Department and released by the base Tuesday:
Confirmed by police:
Unconfirmed or identified as an aircraft
William Westhoven is a local reporter for DailyRecord.com. For unlimited access to the most important news from your local community, please subscribe or activate your digital account today.
Email: wwesthoven@dailyrecord.com;
Twitter/X: @wwesthoven
This article originally appeared on Morristown Daily Record: Picatinny Arsenal says NJ mystery drones not theirs