Army Arsenal seeks information on mysterious drone flights after installation

On By Littum

The US Army Picatinny Arsenal in northern New Jersey is working with local, state and federal partners to get more information about mysterious drone activity over the facility and in the surrounding area, a spokesperson told us. His comments were in response to questions we asked about reports of strange drone activity near the facility that appeared on social media overnight.

The military installation is home to several important weapons development organizations, including Joint Center of Excellence for weapons and ammunition, the US Army Combat Capabilities Development Command (DEVCOM) Armaments Center and one of the Armament Research, Development and Engineering Center (ARDEC)’s research and development laboratories.

The reported drone activity comes in the wake of a drone strike over Langley Air Force Base last December, which we were the first to report. You can read more about it in our initial story on these incidents here. Langley is just one high-profile example of an increasingly troubling pattern of peculiar drone operations around sensitive facilities.

“We received reports of what are believed to be drones flying over the Picatinny Arsenal, in addition to other locations in Morris County … on the evening of November 18, 2024,” facility spokesman Timothy Rider told us in an email Tuesday afternoon . “Picatinny Arsenal organizations were not involved in UAV flights on that date. We are working with several of our local, state and federal partner organizations to obtain more information about the reported activity.”

A Twitter account claimed that drones were flying over the Picatinny Arsenal.

Large drones flying around unauthorized areas around New Jersey, including over the Picatinny Arsenal, which is a military base, on the night of November 18, followed by BlackHawk Helicopters. New Jersey residents are speaking up pic.twitter.com/sonoqZyLY5

— BeautyMrk (@BeautyMrked) 19 November 2024

“We remind everyone that it is illegal to fly UAVs over the Picatinny Arsenal and any other federal military installation without prior authorization,” Rider warned.

Several social media accounts posted video and images of lights seen over northern New Jersey on Tuesday that they attributed to drones of unknown origin. However, they are of low quality and it is impossible to distinguish exactly what was seen and whether they were drones at all.

“Unusual activity reported over Morris County, NJ: several large drones observed flying from Somerset County border north and back,” @NJerzyFireAlert Twitter account reported. “Law enforcement has been advised to notify their communications centers of any sightings.”

New Jersey State Police “aviation is reported to be in the area tracking the drones,” added the account, which monitors police and fire activity in the area. “An Army Black Hawk helicopter was also tracked on aircraft radar in the area. Multiple reports of the drones being seen in Madison, Morris Township and Mendham.”

Unusual activity reported over Morris County, NJ: several large drones were seen flying from the Somerset County border north and back. Law enforcement has been advised to notify their communications centers of any sightings. Photo taken in Morristown ( Josh Wolfson) pic.twitter.com/pSqe6KnwQj

— N. Jerzy Fire Alert (@NJerzyFireAlert) 19 November 2024

There were several posts in the above video with different claims.

More than a dozen large drones have been spotted tonight over Morris County in northern New Jersey, where they were tracked by police and fire officials. An AW139 helicopter with the New Jersey State Police tracked the drones north of Dover, but has since… pic.twitter.com/A3lJWOosbx

— OSINTdefender (@sentdefender) 19 November 2024

UNUSUAL: Morris County NJ is tracking at least five, unknown, large drones that have been flying without authorization for over 2 hours.

Army BlackHawk helicopter also on aircraft radar in the area. Drownings have been reported in Madison, Morris Township and Mendham. pic.twitter.com/fSpFYDmzkJ

— Oliya Scootercaster (@ScooterCasterNY) 19 November 2024

While this was going on, a New Jersey State Police helicopter was seen traveling down to the Picatinny Arsenal and flying several lanes over it, according to an online flight tracking website. Rider, the facility spokesman, could not immediately tell us if there was any connection to the drone incidents it is asking partner organizations about.

Sgt. Boris Sanchez of the Dover Police Department told us that as of Tuesday afternoon, his agency has not received any reports of drones flying in the area last night or early this morning.

Meanwhile, about 25 miles to the north, drones are being used in efforts to fight a large wildfire along the New Jersey-New York border. It is unclear what the connection is between them and what was posted on social media, but it seems unlikely given the distance involved, unless they were mistaken for manned aircraft.

Several drones were seen near the Picatinny Arsenal in northern New Jersey. The facility is about 25 miles from a large wildfire on the New Jersey-New York border. (Google Earth image)

“The State of New York Police drones continue to play a vital role in the ongoing battle against Jennings Creek Wildfire, which has now consumed 5,300 acres along the New York-New Jersey border,” the Drone XL website reported Monday. “The fire, which initially challenged responders with only 10% containment, has now reached 88% containment on the New York side and 90% containment on the New Jersey side, thanks in part to advanced drone surveillance capabilities.”

New York State Police Unmanned Aircraft System (UAS) pilots “remain at the forefront of the firefighting operation by using thermal imaging to identify hotspots and guide ground crews, according to Patch. “This aerial intelligence has proven particularly valuable as the fire zone has expanded and conditions have evolved.”

Drones operating on the New York side of the fire did not cross into New Jersey, a New York State Police spokesman told us.

“The New York State Police is the only agency authorized to operate Unmanned Aerial Systems on the New York State side of the wildfire,” said Beau Duffy. “We have no evidence that our UAS crossed into New Jersey.”

No one has sought information about New Jersey drone sightings from the New York State Police, Duffy added.

The New York State Department of Military and Naval Affairs (DMNA) told us they were flying UH-60 Black Hawk and CH-47 Chinook helicopters to help fight the fire, but they were not operating drones in that effort.

Storm chaser Eli Roberts captured extensive video of these helicopter flights in action, which you can view below.

We’ve reached out to several federal, state and local agencies for additional details and will update this story with any relevant information.

It’s still unclear exactly what people saw in the skies last night over and near the Picatinny Arsenal, but the installation is clearly taking reports of drone activity seriously enough to reach out to several other partner organizations for answers. This coincides with a major change in how seriously military installations and critical infrastructure facilities take these kinds of events. For years they were largely seen as enigmatic and the action moved slowly, if at all. Now, with the glaring threat of drones of various types and their proliferation in conflicts abroad, as well as the increase in intrusions at home and abroad, and especially after the events over Langley AFB last winter, they are being looked at with much more concern. This now includes accelerating the deployment of military capabilities to identify and defeat drone systems near these key areas, which you can read about here.

We will update you as we learn more details about this incident.

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