Secret Operation at Heart of Drone Invasion, Files Reveal...

Official records indicate that the Army has spent years developing and testing “counterterrorism” drones in New Jersey, fueling claims of a possible government cover-up. In 2018, a $50 million defense contract was awarded to a private robotics company to create aircraft capable of producing 3D maps of urban environments for a “counter weapons of mass destruction” program. The contract was issued by the Army’s Armament Research, Development, and Engineering Center (ARDEC), based at Picatinny Arsenal in Rockaway, New Jersey—the same location where mysterious drones were first reported last month.

Documents also show that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) issued a flight restriction on November 21, barring aircraft from flying over Picatinny for “special security reasons” through December 26. The White House has said the drone sightings, which began on November 18, are not linked to a foreign adversary, pose no threat and are not part of a US military operation. Retired CIA intelligence officer Rudy Ridolfi told DailyMail.com that the notice suggests drone testing was taking place in the area. “It’s a warning for others to stay out of the area during those dates,” he said. Although the purpose of the tests was not identified, Ridolfi said they most likely involved reconnaissance-related payloads. Matt Sloane, founder of drone consultancy AI Skyfire, said the sightings could involve “a contractor developing these drones for DoD [the Department of Defense].”

The Department of Defense can reject claims involving third-party technology if the drones are covered by a secure technology list that imposes special limits on contract disclosures. Such restrictions may be used to protect national security or conceal advanced systems from hostile nations, while the developer remains primarily liable if the government is not operating the drones, Ridolfi explained. A Picatinny Arsenal spokesperson told DailyMail.com: “We can confirm that they are not the result of any Picatinny Arsenal or DEVCOM Armaments Center (formerly ARDEC) directed actions.” The contract went to Maryland-based Robotics Research. The FAA restriction may indicate that the company received authorization to test the aircraft in a public area. “They could have been testing them in a different place on a military installation and now it was time to move the testing out to a public area,” Sloane said. “Maybe it was just time to graduate that testing to the public.”

As drone reports spread across large parts of New Jersey, the White House has pointed out that more than one million drones are legally registered in the United States. Officials have also said that some sightings may involve hobby aircraft, airplanes or even stars. Sloane compared the situation with a drone mystery in Colorado between 2019 and 2020, when swarms of aerial vehicles were reported across the sky. Local reports suggested they were part of “a secretive Air Force program intended to keep prying eyes away from nuclear missile silos” near Cheyenne. Air Force Global Strike Command, headquartered in Louisiana, confirmed that it conducts counter-drone exercises from F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Cheyenne.

The Colorado aircraft were described as having “flashing or steady white, red or green lights,” echoing the reports now emerging from New Jersey. Residents and local officials in Colorado also demanded explanations. There were rumors that the drones were searching for missing radioactive material, a theory that has also surfaced in New Jersey. “I think (at the extreme) this could be a search operation” in New Jersey, Ridolfi said. “One argument against that, to some degree, is that the vast bulk of the sightings are at night. If it really was a national security issue, they’d be running around the clock.”

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Sloane said drones operated by a government contractor could carry a range of equipment, including “cameras, gas detectors and radiation detectors.” The FAA notice issued last month cited national defense and security concerns, temporarily prohibiting other aircraft from flying within a two-mile radius of the base and below 2,000 feet. Exemptions apply to operations supporting national defense, law enforcement, firefighting, search and rescue, disaster response, event support and commercial activity covered by a valid statement of work.

When asked about the flight restriction over the base, an FAA spokesperson said the agency was unaware of the alert. Picatinny Arsenal, in Morris County, develops advanced conventional weapons and ammunition, and has supplied Ukraine with weapons for its war against Russia. Morris County was also the first New Jersey area to report the drone sightings, prompting 21 mayors to send a joint letter urging Governor Phil Murphy to take statewide action.

The first reports raised fears that foreign adversaries were monitoring Picatinny Arsenal. However, the White House has assured the public that the drones are not being operated by Russia, China or Iran. “I do think it’s interesting that [the drones are] using position lights,” Sloane said. “If I were a foreign adversary wanting to spy on things, I probably wouldn’t have red and green lights on my drone.” By December 10, Picatinny Arsenal had logged 17 confirmed and unconfirmed drone sightings over its territory since November 13.

Security personnel reported the earliest “confirmed” sighting, while the “unconfirmed” reports came from unidentified people, including local residents. Under the contract, Robotics Research was tasked with demonstrating autonomous unmanned-system sensing technologies and designing systems that incorporated those capabilities. The program focuses on autonomy, 3D and 4D mapping, localization, target identification, tracking, collective 3D visualization, weapons-system integration for Unmanned Autonomous Systems and communications in subterranean environments.