DHS Briefing Details Select Drone Sightings in New Jersey, Highlights Potential Misidentifications Among 5,000+ Reports

Following a surge of more than 5,000 drone sighting reports in New Jersey in late 2024, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) has released internal briefing materials through the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) that outline select incidents under investigation. The documents, obtained by The Black Vault, reflect a federal response involving the FBI, DHS, Coast Guard, and other agencies — but they also point to possible misidentifications of conventional aircraft in some cases initially believed to involve drones.

The FOIA case, designated 2025-HQFO-01452, was filed by The Black Vault on December 11, 2024.

According to a December 18, 2024, DHS document titled “CTAB – NJ Drones,” the FBI “opened an investigation when a drone was reported over DoD facilities in NJ.” That was followed by the establishment of a tip line which, the briefing states, received “over 5000 ‘reported drone sightings.’”

While that number suggests a widespread phenomenon, the internal presentation only highlights four specific cases, all of which appear to include conventional explanations or observations suggestive of misinterpretation.

One case describes an incident involving a medevac helicopter attempting to land in New Jersey. “Three drones were observed in close proximity to that medevac unit forcing the unit to abort the landing and look for another landing zone,” the document states. At the same time, three commercial aircraft were on approach to the SOLEBERG VOR, with their alignment giving “the appearance to observers on the ground of them hovering in formation while they were actually moving directly at the observers.”

Another case notes a group of six to seven “large drones” reported “traveling in from the ocean toward the base and then hovering over the coastline.” However, flight tracking during the same period showed commercial airliners approaching JFK Airport from the south, turning inland near Sea Girt, then turning back out to sea. The report observes, “For these periods of time, they would appear to almost hover in the sky as they flew toward, and then away from, land.”

A third incident focused on sightings near a nuclear facility. “More than (3) three drones were observed hovering for an extended period of time over the waterlines at the nuclear plant,” the document states. But coinciding aircraft activity was also noted, including a Cessna C150 and a UH-60 Black Hawk helicopter operating near the same location.

In the fourth incident, a witness described an object that “dipped down and went back up again… and reported it sprayed a gray mist.” DHS analysis determined the object to be a Beechcraft Baron 58 experiencing turbulence. According to the report, “While regaining altitude, it is likely the rapid pressure change over the wing’s surfaces cause wingtip vortices (condensation clouds) that may appear as gray mist.”

Collectively, the selected cases present scenarios where initial drone reports were either mistaken identity or had plausible alternative explanations. However, the documents do not clarify whether these four incidents are representative of the larger pool of 5,000+ reports, or if they were specifically selected because they were explainable.

Despite the ambiguous framing, the documents do affirm significant interagency coordination. “DHS Components in the local area are fully engaged including Newark FAMS field office, and multiple U.S. Coast Guard stations,” the document reads. It also notes that the DHS Science and Technology Directorate, through the National Urban Security Technology Laboratory (NUSTL), “has deployed state of the art detection equipment,” but redacted what it deployed.

The documents also had other areas withheld from release. These redactions were made primarily under FOIA exemptions (b)(5) and (b)(7)(E).

• Exemption (b)(5) protects “inter-agency or intra-agency memorandums or letters” that are part of the government’s deliberative process, often referred to as the deliberative process privilege. This typically covers predecisional discussions and recommendations that could chill open discussion within the agency.
• Exemption (b)(7)(E) applies to “records or information compiled for law enforcement purposes” that would disclose techniques and procedures for law enforcement investigations or prosecutions, or guidelines that could risk circumvention of the law if released. In this context, it likely covers detection technologies, surveillance capabilities, or law enforcement response strategies.

In addition to the surveillance equipment being withheld, sections under the “Threat Landscape” heading and other operational details were heavily redacted, suggesting that DHS may have identified sensitive vulnerabilities or investigative leads that remain protected.

The limited visibility into those sections means the public is not able to assess whether any of the more than 5,000 drone reports involved foreign actors, advanced technology, or other national security concerns — if such assessments were made at all. As written, the briefing only discusses a handful of incidents and does not disclose how, or if, the remaining reports were analyzed.

Temporary flight restrictions were also considered around sensitive areas. “CISA and USCG are working with state and local officials to issue temporary flight restrictions (TFRs) for certain high-risk facilities such as nuclear power plants and major substations.”

The internal briefings further show that the National Security Council Director for Homeland Security Affairs was involved in crafting coordinated messaging for elected officials and Congress.

While the highlighted incidents suggest a pattern of conventional aircraft being mistaken for drones under certain flight conditions, the vast majority of the 5,000+ reports remain unexamined in the publicly released documentation. Whether a comprehensive review was conducted or whether cases involving unexplainable sightings exist elsewhere in classified or unreleased materials is unknown.

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Document Archive

2025-HQFO-01452 Release Package [10 Pages, 1.5MB]

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