NJ drone sightings could be a ‘classified exercise’: former CIA officer

Former CIA Operations officer Laura Ballman says the mysterious drone sightings are ‘extremely disturbing’ as the public seeks answers on ‘Fox News Live’.

Sightings of drones throughout New Jersey have unsettled residents for weeks without official explanations being offered. Ballman argued that the circumstances surrounding the drone sightings suggest it may be a US operation.

“Deriving the statements from (National Security Spokesman) John Kirby that these drones are not operating illegally, coupled with several statements that have been out there in the last 24 hours about the need to look at our detection systems, makes me think this is actually a classified exercise to test either evasion technology or detection technology in urban areas,” Ballman said.

Ballman went on to say she would be “shocked” if the drones were related to the CIA, saying it is “not their mandate to operate in the United States.” She added that she is “concerned” about why the US government has not been forthcoming with information about the drones.

MORE THAN 20 DAYS INTO THE PHENOMENON, PENTAGON STILL HAS NO ANSWERS ON ORIGIN OF MYSTERIOUS NJ DRONES

A map showing drone density in Monmouth County, New Jersey. (Courtesy: Monmouth County Sheriff’s Office)

DRONE MYSTERY: NEW JERSEY HOMEOWNERS THREATEN TO TAKE MATTERS INTO THEIR OWN HANDS IF THE GOVERNMENT DOESN’T ACT

U.S. national security officials tried to allay the concerns mysterious drones flew over the Northeast in a recent call with reporters, going so far as to describe the nationwide unrest as “a slight overreaction.”

The call, attended by Fox News Digital Saturday, hosted senior Biden administration officials, including representatives from the FBI, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), National Security Council (NSC), Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Defense (DOD) .

The senior officials remained tight-lipped about the origin of the drones, which is still being investigated. The mysterious planes were first seen flying over northern New Jersey in mid-November and have been repeatedly seen by thousands of residents over the past few weeks.

Map showing some of the locations where mysterious drones have been seen in the northeastern United States in December 2024. (Fox News)

MORE THAN 20 DAYS INTO THE PHENOMENON, PENTAGON STILL HAS NO ANSWERS ON ORIGIN OF MYSTERIOUS NJ DRONES

During the call with reporters, an FBI official said his agency has received 5,000 tips since the first mysterious drone was seen flying over the Garden State in November. Of those 5,000 tips, fewer than 100 warranted further investigation, the official said.

The FBI official added that investigators have found no evidence of large-scale unmanned drone activity despite the recent increase in drone activity in recent weeks.

New Jersey State Assemblyman Paul Kanitra took a photo of what appears to be several drones hovering in the New Jersey skies on Thursday, December 13th. (Paul Kanitra / “Fox News @ Night”)

“We are doing our best to find the origin of the specific … these drone activities,” the official said. “But I think there has been a bit of an overreaction.”

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Echoing comments from the FBI representative, a DHS official noted that while his agency does not dismiss all tips about the drones as non-credible, “the amount of actual drone activity is probably less than what is being reported.”

Fox News’ Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.