NJ’s Drone Sighting Mystery Might Be Solved: What We Know

It’s been nearly a year since New Jerseyans were greeted by strange drone lights in the sky, and one company has come forward to explain it.

The New York Post reported this week that an unnamed contractor claimed responsibility for the drone sightings last year in the state.

During the U.S. Army’s UAS and Launched Effects Summit in Alabama this past August, an employee for the unnamed contractor told a Post source, “You remember that big UFO scare in New Jersey last year? Well, that was us,” according to the report.

“The company was in the air over the Garden State in November 2024 to ‘test out their capabilities, ’ the contractor’s employee claimed to the source — adding they were not required to disclose their activity to the public because of a private government contract,” it continues.

The admission reportedly came as the contractor was conducting a live demonstration of a 20-foot drone, which displayed fast movements that made onlookers feel “like it’s a UFO because it defies what you’re expecting to see,” according to the report.

However, a separate report from NJ.com says that the ‘unnamed contractor’ mentioned in the Post article claims to have never flown over New Jersey.

NJ.com was able to identify one of the 20-foot drones pictured in the Post’s article as a Pivotal BlackFly, an “ultralight electric vertical takeoff and landing vehicle.”

The outlet also confirmed that Pivotal, an aerospace company, did conduct live demonstrations during the UAS and Launched Effects Summit.

But, a spokesperson for Pivotal said the company “has never conducted flights in New Jersey” and has “no connection to the meme or the reported drone sightings mentioned in the New York Post article,” NJ.com’s report reads.

The Drone Mystery

The incidents began in November 2024, when drones were spotted flying above Picatinny Arsenal in Morris County. More sightings were reported all across the state over the following weeks, resulting in drone bans, demands for transparency, and the occasional mumble of extraterrestrial possibilities.

See Related:

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• Drones Coming From Ocean, Tailed Coast Guard Vessel At Jersey Shore, NJ Rep Says

Some residents reported seeing the drones spray a “gray mist” across New Jersey towns, and others claimed that the drones were “approximately the size of small SUVs.”

In January, the Federal Bureau of Investigation told Patch they had received more than 6,000 tips about drone activity in New Jersey, about 100 of which warranted further investigation.

A statement from the Trump Administration said that the drones were approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for “research” and “various other reasons,” with many of these drones being “hobbyists, recreational and private individuals who enjoy flying drones.”

See More: New Docs Reveal What Feds Knew About NJ Drone Sightings