Mysterious drones over New Jersey in 2024 kept Americans scanning the skies for answers.
Now, newly released documents obtained by The War Zone through the Freedom of Information Act reveal what police on the ground actually saw.
The records describe officers across the state spotting large unidentified drones flying in coordinated formations, sometimes in groups of more than a dozen.
Several reports said the aircraft hovered over critical infrastructure, including reservoirs, power substations, research laboratories and military facilities.
In one incident, multiple drones forced a New Jersey State Police medevac helicopter to abort a landing before several appeared to follow it to another location.
Air traffic controllers also reported unidentified drones flying through restricted airspace near Trenton-Mercer Airport at speeds approaching 170 miles per hour, prompting warnings to pilots.
Other officers described triangular or fixed-wing drones significantly larger than consumer models, some reportedly the size of a small car and possibly capable of jamming radar signals.
The thousands of pages of emails, police reports and internal memos show law enforcement officials repeatedly warning that the aircraft could be military-grade and potentially carrying explosive payloads.
The earliest warnings surfaced on November 18, 2024, when Watchung Police Captain Sherif Zaiton alerted officers to 'rogue drone flights' reported across the county.
When President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, his administration said the drones were approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for research and other purposes. But the administration provided no further details.
The thousands of pages of emails, police reports and internal memos obtained by The War Zone paint a far more complicated picture of the so-called 'Jersey drone scare' than the public was initially told.
While many sightings were later attributed to misidentified aircraft, stars or planets, law enforcement officers across the state documented dozens of incidents involving unusual drones operating near critical infrastructure and sensitive locations.
The objects were first reported in Morris County near the Picatinny Arsenal and over Trump's Bedminster golf course.
The earliest warnings surfaced on November 18, 2024, when Watchung Police Captain Sherif Zaiton alerted officers to 'rogue drone flights' reported across the county.
'There have been reports county-wide of rogue drone flights, multiple drones flying in pattern over sensitive sites,' Zaiton wrote in an email to officers.
Because Trump frequently visited the region at the time, Zaiton told officers to immediately report any sightings.
The following day, Peapack and Gladstone Police Chief Stephen Ferrante warned other departments that 'multiple reports of large drones' had already been received in the area.
The thousands of pages of emails, police reports and internal memos show law enforcement officials repeatedly warning that the aircraft could be military-grade and potentially carrying explosive payloads.
When President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, his administration said the drones were approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for research and other purposes. But the administration provided no further details.
The objects were first reported in Morris County near the Picatinny Arsenal and over Trump's Bedminster golf course.
Authorities quickly realized the situation was serious enough to involve multiple agencies.
Emails show local police were coordinating with county officials, the New Jersey State Police and the FBI as reports spread across the state.
In one message to officers, Watchung Police Chief Scott Anderle warned that the aircraft were 'far bigger than typical hobbyist models' and could require special Federal Aviation Administration licensing.
He also cautioned officers to treat the drones as potentially dangerous.
'The size of the recent drones encountered makes them potentially military grade,' Anderle wrote, advising officers to call bomb squads if one landed.
Shortly after, another update suggested the aircraft was deliberately flying around county communications towers.
'Please keep this in mind,' Zaiton wrote in a follow-up message. 'We are being told to very much consider that these drones could be carrying an explosive payload.'
The drones appeared in mid-November over the Picatinny Arsenal military base in Rockaway, also the location for the Army's Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC) that develops new drone technologies for the military.
Newly released documents obtained by The War Zone through the Freedom of Information Act reveal what police on the ground actually saw.
While many sightings were later attributed to misidentified aircraft, stars or planets, law enforcement officers across the state documented dozens of incidents involving unusual drones operating near critical infrastructure and sensitive locations.
Police reports from across New Jersey show officers repeatedly spotting drones flying in groups and following similar flight paths.
On November 19, a Raritan Borough police officer reported observing two fixed-wing drones flying at about 400 feet above the ground along nearly identical routes.
Another smaller quadcopter-style drone was seen traveling in the opposite direction.
As sightings increased, federal authorities stepped in.
On November 22, a counterterrorism coordinator with the Middlesex County Prosecutor's Office sent an alert to local departments at the request of the FBI and Joint Terrorism Task Force.
The warning urged patrol officers to immediately report sightings of suspicious unmanned aircraft.
'Some of these unknown fixed-wing drones have been quite large,'
the alert said.
Investigators also warned that the aircraft were being spotted near power lines, substations and military installations.
'There is a concern this could be 'out of country' nations,'
the message noted.
Over the following days, police logged an escalating series of sightings.
On November 24, officers responding to a report near a reservoir and sewage plant in Parsippany said they observed more than 13 drones flying north through the area for nearly half an hour. The drones' design and size could not be identified.
Law enforcement also reported drones flying near hospitals, research laboratories and even federal restricted airspace.
Authorities requested that the New Jersey State Police monitor nearby highways because the area contained critical infrastructure, including water treatment facilities.
Two days later, another officer in Branchburg reported spotting a drone hovering above a power switching station.
When the officer approached the site, the aircraft suddenly switched off its navigation lights and flew away.
Within minutes, two more drones appeared behind the property and headed north.
The drones also interfered with emergency operations.
That same evening, a New Jersey State Police medevac helicopter attempting to land at Raritan Valley Community College was forced to abort its landing after firefighters spotted multiple drones in the area.
As the helicopter diverted to another landing site, officers reported that several drones appeared to follow it.
Police also described unusual drone shapes and formations.
An officer in Fair Hills reported seeing about ten large drones moving along a highway corridor at altitudes between 200 and 400 feet.
The aircraft were triangular, significantly larger than typical consumer drones and equipped with strobing red and white lights.
Other sightings suggested even more unusual capabilities.
At Trenton-Mercer Airport in early December, air traffic controllers tracked several unidentified aerial vehicles flying through restricted airspace.
One officer reported radar speeds reaching about 150 knots, roughly 170 miles per hour.
The activity was serious enough that airport officials issued a Notice to Airmen warning pilots about drone activity near the airport.
In another incident, Essex County Airport officials told police they believed the drones were using 'sophisticated radar jamming technology' after the aircraft appeared invisible to radar systems.
Some of the most alarming sightings occurred near critical government facilities.
On December 8, officers at the Federal Reserve building in East Rutherford reported seeing three drones hovering about 100 feet above the parking lot.
One of the drones was described as roughly the size of a motor vehicle, and photographs taken by police were attached to the report.
Law enforcement also reported drones flying near hospitals, research laboratories and even federal restricted airspace.
At the Princeton Plasma Physics Laboratory, staff reported about 11 drones flying near the facility for more than 20 minutes. Five of the aircraft reportedly entered restricted federal airspace.
Sightings were also reported over major medical centers in the state, including Princeton Medical Center and Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital.
Despite the sheer number of reports, no arrests were made and authorities never publicly identified who was operating the drones.
Many sightings were ultimately attributed to misidentified aircraft or celestial objects.
But the police records reveal that officers across the state repeatedly encountered unusual aerial activity they could not immediately explain.
Those firsthand reports, from local patrol officers to federal investigators, highlight how much uncertainty surrounded the mysterious drone activity that gripped New Jersey during the winter of 2024.
And even now, the documents suggest one lingering question remains unanswered.