Do videos in a social media post show drones firing weapons in New Jersey in December 2024? No, that's not true: A military spokesperson at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst told Lead Stories that both videos show a "U.S. Marine helicopter conducting nighttime aerial gunnery training." The spokesperson added, "This is normal training conducted monthly."
The claim appeared in a post that included two videos (archived here) on X on December 12, 2024. The post's caption said:
🚨ESCALATION: Eyewitnesses say that the drones over NJ appear to be shooting at something
This is what the post looked like at the time of writing:
(Source: X screenshot taken on Fri Dec 13 16:32:45 2024 UTC)
Neither the post nor the included videos provided any proof to support the assertion that they authentically depicted drones "shooting at something" over New Jersey. While there have been numerous reports of unexplained drones in New Jersey, especially at night, authorities, including the FBI and local law enforcement, have found no evidence of the drones being armed or firing weapons.
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst
Rochelle Naus, the deputy chief of public affairs at Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst (JB MDL) in New Jersey, told Lead Stories in a December 13, 2024, email that the two videos in the social media post don't show drones. She wrote:
We are aware of the video. I have verified with our mission partners on JB MDL and can confirm that the footage seen in the videos from the post cited below is a U.S. Marine helicopter conducting nighttime aerial gunnery training on our range. This is normal training conducted monthly and not outside our normal mission readiness training schedule.
Naus said the training shown in the videos is from the night of December 12, 2024. The post is embedded below:
🚨ESCALATION: Eyewitnesses say that the drones over NJ appear to be shooting at something pic.twitter.com/N10svy7qHX
-- WayneTech SPFX®️ (@WayneTechSPFX) December 13, 2024
Each month, the base posts a "noise calendar" on its website (archived here) and official Facebook page (archived here). A screenshot for December 2024 appears below. It shows regular "ROTARY WING AERIAL GUNNERY" or helicopter training most nights, which includes .50-caliber weapons, rocket fire and rotary cannons (golden icons on the calendar):
(Source: Facebook screenshot taken on Fri Dec 13 18:31:42 2024 UTC)
New Jersey drone reports
Purported drone sightings blossomed across New Jersey and social media in November and December 2024. The reports prompted a joint statement (archived here) from the FBI and the Department of Homeland Security on December 12, 2024. It said:
We have no evidence at this time that the reported drone sightings pose a national security or public safety threat or have a foreign nexus. The FBI, DHS and our federal partners, in close coordination with the New Jersey State Police, continue to deploy personnel and technology to investigate this situation and confirm whether the reported drone flights are actually drones or are instead manned aircraft or otherwise inaccurate sightings.
Historically, we have experienced cases of mistaken identity, where reported drones are, in fact, manned aircraft or facilities. We are supporting local law enforcement in New Jersey with numerous detection methods but have not corroborated any of the reported visual sightings with electronic detection. To the contrary, upon review of available imagery, it appears that many of the reported sightings are actually manned aircraft, operating lawfully. There are no reported or confirmed drone sightings in any restricted air space.
At JB MDL, Naus said in the email they're familiar with the accounts:
Joint Base McGuire-Dix-Lakehurst is aware of the recent reports of drone sightings across New Jersey and continues to closely coordinate with federal and state agencies to ensure the safety of our personnel and operations. While no recent incursions to the installation have been identified, the base remains prepared to respond to any potential risks, leveraging robust security measures to protect our service members and their families.
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Additional Lead Stories fact checks of claims involving drones can be found here.
