Page 30 - 2025 May June Magazine

“The sky grew darker, painted blue on blue, one stroke
at a time, into deeper and deeper shades of night.”
- Haruki Murakami
Drones Over Langley
In October 2024, the Wall Street Journal reported that large
‘mystery drones’ flew over Langley AFB in Virginia for 17
nights in a row in December 2023, leaving the Pentagon
stumped and struggling to respond. USAF General and former
F-15 fighter pilot, Mark Kelley, told the WSJ he witnessed
the drones flying at up to 100 mph from a rooftop on base.
The Pentagon did not know who controlled those drones but
the complexity and coordination of their flights indicated “a
level of sophistication beyond civilian drone operations.” On
December 23, 2023, the drones stopped flying over Langley just
as mysteriously as they had started.
Drones Over New Jersey
One year later, in mid-November 2024, mysterious drones
were spotted flying at night over the Picatinny Arsenal and the
President-Elect’s golf course in New Jersey. This prompted the
FAA to issue Temporary Flight Restrictions (TFRs) declaring
the airspace over those areas closed to drones absent special
authorization. Over the next three weeks the FAA issued TFRs
barring drone flights over an additional twenty-two counties.
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Shutterstock/AI
The drones came in different shapes and sizes, from fixed
wing to multi-rotor, from six to twenty feet in length and with
some as big as sport utility vehicles. Some flew in coordinated
clusters at high altitude while others flew low and slow at times
hovering in place at altitudes as low as two-hundred feet.
Ground Zero: Ocean County New Jersey
“Nothing spoils a good story like the arrival
of an eyewitness” - Mark Twain
On the night of December 8, 2024, a 14-person crew from
United States Coast Guard Station Barnegat Light, in Ocean
County, New Jersey, was patrolling the coast when a dozen or
more drones suddenly appeared and began following their boat
at about 100 feet. Whenever the boat turned the drones turned,
blinking their lights and continuing this chase for several
minutes before vanishing into the night. But they were not the
only trained observers who saw drones flying in from the ocean
over Ocean County while working in their official capacities.
An Ocean County sheriff ’s deputy saw dozens of drones flying
in from the ocean over Island Beach State Park and into New
Jersey. Sheriff Michael Mastronardi met with the deputy, viewed
his vest camera footage, and confirmed to the press there was
a problem. Many other New Jersey state and local officials
agreed. John Peterson Jr., Mayor of the borough of Seaside Park,
said “these issues are very, very concerning and the response
from the federal government is very, very insulting." Ocean
County Commissioner Frank Sadeghi explained that the lack of
information was causing fear and panic. “This is affecting our
citizens every day and every night and this has to stop.”
However, White House National Security Communications
Adviser, John Kirby, continued to dismiss any threat to national
security and openly mocked the USCG by claiming ‘forensics’
proved their crew mistook regular commercial aircraft flying
miles away for drones flying in close proximity.
The public quickly learned two things; the USCG does not
appreciate being chased by drones at night, nor having their