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The naval station, located in Colts Neck said it was aware of the unexplained sightings across New Jersey.
New Jersey residents have described the drones as frequently hovering overhead, sometimes travelling in clusters or making different kinds of patterns. (Image: X)
Multiple drones were spotted entering the airspace at a Navy weapons station in New Jersey during the recent surge in unexplained and mysterious drone sightings across the state, United States (US) Navy officials on Friday.
“While no direct threats to the installation have been identified, we can confirm multiple instances of unidentified drones entering the airspace above Naval Weapons Station Earle. The base remains prepared to respond to any potential risks, leveraging robust security measures and advanced detection capabilities,” facility spokesperson Bill Addison said in a statement to ABC News.
The naval station, located in Colts Neck said it was aware of the unexplained sightings across New Jersey and added that it “continues to closely coordinate with federal and state agencies to ensure the safety of our personnel and operations.”
The navy official further encouraged the members of the community to report any suspicious activity near the base to local law enforcement officials.
According to NJ.com news outlet, Earle naval weapon station is the second New Jersey military base to report drone sightings after Picatinny Arsenal in Morris County reported at least 11 drone sightings in recent weeks.
A spokesperson for the federal Department of Defence’s US Northern Command confirmed that the drones were spotted above the New Jersey military facilities.
Earlier on Wednesday, a Congressman claimed that the mystery drones seen over the state were Iranian. He further said that the drones were coming from a mothership parked off the East Coast.
The drones could “very possibly be from Iran”, Rep. Jeff Van Drew, a Republican, said during an appearance on Fox News.
Law enforcement officials, including the FBI, are still trying to confirm what exactly New Jersey residents are seeing and where they’re coming from. “We have reports from the public and law enforcement dating back several weeks,” the FBI field office in Newark said December 3.
The Department of Homeland Security and White House national security spokesman John Kirby said on Thursday that many of the reported sightings are actually “manned aircraft” operating lawfully, and experts told CNN that the objects in “sighting” videos they’d reviewed appeared to be airplanes.
I wrote to @POTUS to express my concerns about reports of unmanned aircraft systems in and around NJ airspace.Since existing laws limit the ability of state and local law enforcement to counter UAS, more federal resources are needed to understand what is behind this activity. pic.twitter.com/mkeUeW7ury
— Governor Phil Murphy (@GovMurphy) December 13, 2024
The White House has also said there is “no evidence at this time” that the mysterious sightings “pose a national security or a public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.”
Unidentified drones were reported flying over multiple counties in New Jersey, causing widespread concern. The unusual scenes across the skies of New Jersey prompted a federal investigation.
These sightings, which began in late November 2024, involve large, often car-sized drones flying in coordinated patterns, the New York Times reported. They have been spotted hovering over critical infrastructure, including reservoirs, power lines, and railroads, as well as flying over residential backyards, highways, and often in groups.