In the summer of 2024, panic spread across the nation as hundreds of unidentified drones took to the skies around the New Jersey area. Local law enforcement and public officials grew concerned as thousands of reports came in of these unidentified drones near military bases and critical infrastructure.
Watched the NJ drones fly around the Hudson River, near the Freedom tower, and over the W hotel in Hoboken last night. They were circling for a good 20-30 minutes. Crazy they can fly so close to our most valuable assets with full impunity. pic.twitter.com/PKhl7Ip6ki
— Dan Silverman (@Cryptodamus44) December 14, 2024
Well a private contractor is taking responsibility for the drones.
An unnamed company took responsibility in August, at the Army’s UAS and Launched Effects Summit at Fort Rucker, Alabama, as one attendee discussed with the NY Post.
🚨BREAKING: US military contractor says their car-sized drone was responsible for setting off the New Jersey drone hysteria in November 2024: "That was us."
— Steven Greenstreet 🐷 (@MiddleOfMayhem) October 18, 2025
The @nypost has received video of the drone: pic.twitter.com/oJAvH6SbI4
"You remember that big UFO scare in New Jersey last year? Well, that was us," one of the employees of the company said at the time. The company during the summit was demonstrating the manuevering capabilities of their 20 foot long drone, responsible for the incident last summer.
They were not required to disclose their tests to the public, due to their contract with the government.
"It feels like it’s a UFO because it defies what you’re expecting to see," the source said.
"When it turned, you almost completely [lost] sight of it," they continued. "Which is why I think people were seeing this up in the sky, and why there were reports of people seeing it and saying it disappeared."
Earlier this year, the Federal Aviation Administration, under President Trump, disclosed that the so-called "mystery drones” were not part of any covert operation but were simply flown by hobbyists and recreational pilots.