Mysterious, SUV-sized Drones Return to New York and New Jersey Skies
The mysterious drones that had been flying over New Jersey and New York have returned after a brief lull that coincided with flight restrictions imposed by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA). The FAA lifted the ban on January 17, and reports have been flooding in once again.
According to Enigma Labs, a company that tracks unidentified flying objects, there have been over 100 reports of drone sightings across the US in the past three weeks. The company’s interactive map and iPhone app, which tracks drone sightings, received 22,000 reports in 2024, with most of the activity concentrated in the Northeast.
New Jersey remains a hotbed of drone activity, with over 50% of reports describing the objects as “hovering” or staying airborne for extended periods of time. Additionally, 25% of reports indicate that the objects were observed moving in swarms of five or more.
The Enigma Labs app, which was launched in November, relies on user-submitted information and has received 650 reports of drone sightings in the US, with 154 coming in January alone. The company is planning to release an Android version of the app on the Google Play store next month.
Some recent sightings reported to Enigma Labs include a floating, color-shifting object over Hoboken on January 14 and a group of drones seen flying over Stockton, New Jersey. Federal officials had initially dismissed the sightings as misidentified planes approaching the area’s airports, but the Enigma Labs data suggests that the objects are not limited to being in the vicinity of airports.
Enigma Labs has also launched a hotline, 1-833-SAW-A-UFO, for people to report sightings and provide information. The company’s goal is to help investigators track and understand the mysterious drones, which have generated fear and panic in the Garden State and around the country.
