For the last month, New Jersey residents and others, including President-elect Donald Trump, have seen, reported, or weighed in on clusters of light or strange crafts in the night sky. While it's clear that some of the sightings are drones, various officials claim that others are commercial or private aircraft.
As is usually the case with unexplained phenomena, social media keyboard jockeys and utracrepidarians continue to share their "expert" opinions on the sightings, including drones emerging from or "off" the ocean, a classified mission by our own government, and an Iranian "mothership" parked off the East Coast.
While I've intentionally avoided weighing in on "Dronegate," I have followed the story, including the various theories, genuine concerns, and yes, a bit of hysteria — but one thing is clear: something is going on, even if it's a combination of private drones, confusion about other "lights in the sky," or indeed a government cover-up. So I decided to take a closer look at the whole thing.
For starters, let's begin with an amusing example of how "out there" some of the speculation has become.
They appear to be mimics. Even the very sound they make, which sounds like a commercial airliner passing by at a high altitude, is fake. It's being artificially projected from them. Some of these are flying only a few hundred feet above neighborhoods at a slow speed, but they're making that high in the sky cruise noise that we're all familiar with.
The lights of the craft are also strange; they're not standard for commercial or private airlines. It's almost like something tried to copy a human-made aircraft, really trying to fool people on the ground. Despite that, people can see right away that something is not right about these things. This is absolutely wild.
I'm not judging here, but this "explanation" is a bit too "Star Trekian" for me.
They appear to be mimics. Even the very sound they make, which sounds like a commercial airliner passing by at a high altitude, is fake. It's being artificially projected from them. Some of these are flying only a few hundred feet above neighborhoods at a slow speed, but they're…
— Night Trekker (@Nighttrekker3) December 5, 2024
Former CIA operations officer Laura Ballman is convinced that the mysterious drone sighting may be part of a government cover-up. Ballman rules out the CIA, saying it’s “not their mandate to operate in the United States," but she does suspect the federal government, including lame-duck President Biden, may be responsible for the unexplained sightings.
Deducing the statements from [National Security spokesman] John Kirby that these drones are not operating illegally, coupled with several op-eds that have been out there in the last 24 hours about the need to look at our detection systems, makes me think perhaps this is actually a classified exercise to test either evasion technology or detection technology in urban areas.
A 2023 report from the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory explained that drones have been used to "fly low and slow" to to detect possible low levels of radiation.
In a study to assess drones for radiological detection, researchers conducted an experiment at an open field on the PNNL campus in Richland, Washington.
The experiment compared the ability of a flying drone carrying radiological survey equipment with the same survey equipment secured to a rolling cart.
The drone was a six-propeller Aurelia X6, made by UAV Systems International. A Federal Aviation Administration licensed pilot operated the drone.
While federal authorities have tried to reassure residents that the objects don’t appear to be operating nefariously and are not operated by a foreign adversary such as Iran or China, the lack of explanation only continues to fan the flames.
In a Friday post on Truth Social, Trump made clear what he thinks should be done about the mysterious drones — for starters.
Mystery Drone sightings all over the Country. Can this really be happening without our government’s knowledge. I don’t think so! Let the public know, and now. Otherwise, shoot them down!!! DJT
I won't weigh in on Trump's suggestion, but I am reminded of the law of unintended consequences.
Also on Friday, Tesla and SpaceX CEO Elon Musk — soon to co-lead Trump's proposed Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), along with entrepreneur and 2024 Republican presidential candidate Vivek Ramaswamy — weighed in. Elon being Elon, he went bottom-line:
Alien spaceships controlled by Iran obv
Thoughts?
Alien spaceships controlled by Iran obv
— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) December 13, 2024
Perhaps Musk's comment was a snarky jab at the Biden administration — or not.
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The House Subcommittee on Counterterrorism, Law Enforcement, and Intelligence and the Subcommittee on Transportation and Maritime Security held a joint hearing on Tuesday to examine the full scope of the unexplained drone mystery, including potential homeland security threats.
As far as I can tell, we're still at stage one.
The Bottom Line
It occurred to me as I wrote this article how ironic it would be if it turns out to be a government cover-up with the full knowledge of the Biden White House. Biden began his presidential campaign in his basement. Will he end his miserable presidency by leaving Americans in the dark about Dronegate?
