The 2024 Drone Wave: New Jersey, Langley AFB and RAF Lakenheath

It began in Virginia. On the evening of December 6, 2023, unidentified drones appeared over Joint Base Langley-Eustis, home of the F-22. The Pentagon later confirmed incursions over 17 days. Gen. Mark Kelly, then commander of Air Combat Command, watched from a squadron headquarters roof. He saw "20-to-30 sightings, same time every evening, 30-to-45 minutes after sunset." Some were the size of "a bass boat or a small car." "Some were rather loud," Kelly said. "Some weren't near as loud."

December 14. Jonathan Butner watched from his family cabin on the James River. Reddish, orange flashing lights came in "almost, like, on a conveyor belt." He counted "upwards of 40 plus." He filmed nearly 90 minutes on his iPhone and gave it to the FBI.

November 13, 2024. The first confirmed sighting was recorded at Picatinny Arsenal in New Jersey. On November 26, two Branchburg officers watched a "quad propeller drone" hover over a switching station, then "turn off its flashing red and green lights and leave the immediate area." That evening, officers reported that a medevac helicopter could not land and that "3-4 drones appeared to follow NorthStar." Near Route 202 that night, officers logged about 10 craft, "triangular in shape."

On December 3, radar at Trenton-Mercer Airport tracked three to four targets at 600 feet, the fastest at 150 knots. In Chatham Township, Ptl. Brian McGrath flew his department's own drone among them. They moved "back and forth in a grid pattern." Days later, Officer John J. Tiger counted "at least 20 drones visible at any given time." Police radios failed in Somerset County and Jefferson Township.

In England, drones had been seen over RAF Lakenheath, RAF Mildenhall, RAF Feltwell and RAF Fairford "since Nov. 20." F-15Es launched. About 60 RAF Regiment personnel deployed with a counter-drone system. A US official told Reuters the operations appeared "beyond the sophistication of hobbyists." The Ministry of Defence Police opened a criminal investigation. In June 2025 it was still open.

The FBI took the lead on December 3. On December 16, DHS, the FBI, the FAA and DoD reported that from more than 5,000 sightings they had "not identified anything anomalous." They were a combination of lawful drones, manned aircraft, helicopters and "stars mistakenly reported as drones." On January 28, 2025, the White House said the drones "were authorized to be flown by the FAA for research and various other reasons." No operator was named.

Debunkings followed. A video posted by former Maryland governor Larry Hogan showed the constellation Orion. The medevac drones were later identified as three aircraft approaching Solberg Airport. Experts including Mick West concluded most sightings were aircraft or drones. Venus and stars were blamed too, along with a moral panic.

But the bases were different. Officials acknowledged those incursions as real. Gen. Glen VanHerck said of Langley: "It would be my assessment they weren't hobbyists because of the magnitude of the events." NORAD later reported 350 drone incursions over 100 military bases in 2024.

In 2025 an unnamed company reportedly claimed, "You remember that big UFO scare in New Jersey last year? Well, that was us." It has never been named. A CBS/YouGov poll found 78% of Americans believed the government was withholding information. Brian Serge, a college security supervisor, put it simply: "We never found out what the actual drones were."