New Jersey, US

Residents in the northeastern US state of New Jersey have been increasingly spotting bright and fast-flying objects in their skies over the past few days. According to the New York Times, the sightings began in November 2024, with some residents spotting car-sized drones forming some patterns up there. The Federal Bureau of Investigation is probing now.

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The sightings have been reported near critical and sensitive sites such as reservoirs, power lines, and railroads; prompting concerns and the FBI investigation.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy on December 5 said in a social media post that an investigation has been launched but “there is no known threat to the public at this time.”

Several videos have emerged on the internet showing drone-like figures flying in the sky, with some eyewitnesses saying these objects are significantly larger than typical hobbyist models and emit a loud, humming noise.

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"It's kind of unsettling. They're not up for 15 minutes, they're up for hours," a resident was quoted as saying by WPIX. "We saw one right up above us that was the size of our car, another resident said.

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Some people are now turning to Enigma Labs, a New York City-based start-up that allows people to submit geolocated reports and recordings of unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP).

Christine Kim, the head of marketing at Enigma Labs, said their app users from New Jersey have increasingly submitted such sightings reports over the last three weeks, making up to 16 per cent of the total US submissions.

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“This is an active investigation where what’s needed is more eyes on the sky,” Kim says. “For us, this is like a ‘stress test’ of getting our users to film and report on what they’re seeing so that we can crowdsource this and investigate together.... We don’t have clear answers yet, but by getting more data we can try to find and figure out patterns in what we’re seeing.”

However, some experts have noted there is nothing rare or extraordinary about these sightings.

Watch: Pentagon Releases Annual UFO Report; 21 Unexplained UFO Sightings

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UAP skeptic and investigator Mick West posted on X a video showing a supposed “drone” and then revealing from flight-tracking data that it was indeed an ordinary aircraft.

(With inputs from agencies)