As drones are spotted in New Jersey and other states, here’s what we know so far

Mysterious drones have been hovering in the skies above New Jersey and other states in the Northeast for weeks, alarming residents and prompting lawmakers to demand answers.

Since mid-November, the drones have been lighting up night skies with no real explanation of who is operating them or for what purpose. While plenty of questions remain surrounding the unidentified flying objects, here is what we do know.

When did the drone sightings start?

The drones were first spotted in New Jersey on Nov. 18. They appear to show up in the late hours of the night, though it is not clear if they are present every single night.

A senior official briefed on the New Jersey drone sightings told NBC News there have been reports of sightings every night except Thanksgiving and that there have been “little to no” reports of drones during the day.

NBC News has been tracking reports of possible drone sightings, mostly in New Jersey, since at least Dec. 3.

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Where have the drones been spotted?

The drones were first spotted in North Jersey, but now appear to be popping up throughout the state. NBC News has also tracked possible drone sightings in New York, Maryland and Florida.

FBI Baltimore said in a statement that it was aware of sightings of possible drones in Maryland and Delaware.

Where are they from and who is operating them?

These remain the biggest unknowns, with officials unable to publicly pinpoint where the mysterious objects originated or explain exactly what they are doing.

In a joint statement last week about the reports of drones in New Jersey, the FBI and Department of Homeland Security said they “have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus.”

The agencies said they are working with New Jersey State Police and its federal partners to investigate the situation.

The statement said the agencies have “not corroborated any of the reported visual sightings with electronic detection.”

“To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully,” the statement said. “There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted air space. “

The Pentagon has said they are not owned by the military and that they are not coming from an Iranian “mothership” off the East Coast, as suggested by Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J.

In a statement to NBC News, the U.S. Secret Service confirmed it “does not currently have any unmanned aerial systems operating in or around New Jersey or New York.”

Officials have said the drones appear to be commercial-grade, not recreational, and could be up to 6 feet in diameter.

How many drones have been spotted?

Mayors who were present at a briefing last week with New Jersey officials and a DHS representative told NBC News that no one from state or federal agencies was able to confirm exactly how many drones had been spotted over New Jersey.

One said they know of “at least 400 sightings,” and another said “there could be thousands.”

In a segment of a program on radio station WBGO last week, New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy, a Democrat, said that there could be “overreporting” of sightings, with many residents potentially seeing the same device or mistaking other flying objects for drones. 

A senior official briefed on the drone sightings in New Jersey said there were 79 reports of drone sightings overnight from Thursday to Friday in the state.

Several New Jersey officials have said the drone sightings occur up to 180 times per night.

What have officials and lawmakers said?

Numerous federal officials, including the FBI — the lead agency investigating the matter — have said the drones don’t appear to pose a threat, but have not provided much more information.

The Federal Aviation Administration has launched a new website dedicated to drones that aims to answer common questions about the flying objects.

But lawmakers and local officials have expressed frustration with the information from federal officials, demanding answers in a timely manner.

“We have no idea where these drones come from, who owns them. We should be doing some very urgent intelligence analysis and take them out of the skies,” Sen. Richard Blumenthal, D-Conn., said on Thursday.

Former Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan said in a post Friday on X that he witnessed “what appeared to be dozens of large drones” above his home in the state on Thursday night.

He said the public is “growing increasingly concerned and frustrated with the complete lack of transparency and the dismissive attitude of the federal government.”

“I join with the growing bipartisan chorus of leaders demanding that the federal government immediately address this issue,” Hogan said.

Murphy, the New Jersey governor, wrote letters to President Joe Biden, Sens. Chuck Schumer and Mitch McConnell, Rep. Mike Johnson and Rep. Hakeem Jeffries urging Congress to take action. 

Murphy said he wants to “encourage Congress to pass legislation empowering state and local law enforcement entities to use advanced detection and mitigation technologies to deal with UAS.” 

Biden was briefed on the drones earlier last week.

What should you do if you see a drone?

Drones have to be operated by a pilot so they aren’t a threat to people or their property, according to the FAA’s website dedicated to drones, which suggests contacting local law enforcement if you think someone is unsafely flying a drone.

But you definitely shouldn’t try to shoot them down, experts told NBC News, despite some lawmakers suggesting you should.

Experts said that shooting drones is illegal and could result in serious injuries. The FAA classifies drones as aircraft and, under the Aircraft Sabotage Act, damaging or destroying aircraft is a federal offense — even if it’s flying over private property. 

“A private citizen shooting at any aircraft — including unmanned aircraft — poses a significant safety hazard. An unmanned aircraft hit by gunfire could crash, causing damage to persons or property on the ground, or it could collide with other objects in the air,” the FAA said.

It could also start fires, according to Pramod Abichandani, an associate professor at the New Jersey Institute of Technology and the director of the school’s Advanced Air Mobility Lab. “A drone has a lithium battery for the most part,” Abichandani said. “If you shoot at it, assuming you target it correctly and you actually hit the drone, the drone is going to fall somewhere. The lithium battery can explode, cause a fire, and of course, it can cause damage to property.”

Abichandani also noted the dangers of shooting into the night sky.

“God forbid that stray bullet lands somewhere and hits somebody,” he said.