Is There An Iranian Drone Mothership Off The U.S. Coast?

For some time now people have been reporting drones appearing over New Jersey, particularly in proximity to sensitive military sites. The Pentagon seems unable to explain their presence and has taken no meaningful action to down any of the drones or stop the incursions. Now a U.S. congressman says he knows where they are coming from.

There is an Iranian “mother ship” off the coast.

"From very high sources, very qualified sources, very responsible sources, I'm gonna tell you the real deal," said U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew, R-N.J.

"Iran launched a mother ship probably about a month ago that contains these drones. That mother ship is off … the east coast of the United States of America. They've launched drones is everything that we can see or hear and again these are from high sources. I don't say this lightly."

Meanwhile, in New Jersey, people say some very spooky things are happening. A family in Morris County, New Jersey says one of the drones changed the time on their car's clock. The family said they were following one of these seemingly terrestrial UFOs in their vehicle, only to experience the odd effect on their car's electronics as the unexplained craft 'hovered above them.'

'The clock in their car changed time,' according to one Fox News reporter who spoke to the unnamed family. 'They say the clock went back to normal after they drove off.'

According to Fox News, a local software engineer specializing in radio communications believes the temporary alteration of the car's clock is a clue to the origin of these mystery drones.

“Many newer cars get their clock time from GPS satellites since that's one of the most accurate time signals you're going to get in a vehicle,” the engineer, Rich Dunajewski, posted.

“If these are using GPS jamming or spoofing,” Dunajewski explained, “then it's plausible the car would follow the signal and change the clock to match whatever signal is coming from the drone/plane.”

“So don't think aliens,” the engineer reportedly continued, “think foreign actors using electronic warfare methods.”

According to the Daily Mail, a contractor with the FAA's Office of Communications, David Lombardo, agreed with the “radar jamming or GPS spoofing” theory, writing: “It's very likely that these drones have some sort of electronic interference capabilities.”

All of this sounds pretty wacky, except for some disturbing corroboration of some of the claims. Up on Capitol Hill, a number of lawmakers are sounding off about the lack of information regarding the drone sightings.

“Last December, a fleet of drones swarmed Langley Air Force Base next to my district, and now, more drones are swarming sites along the East Coast,” Rep. Rob Wittman (R-VA), vice chairman of the Armed Services Committee, posted to X on Tuesday. “This is a serious threat to public safety and national security — we’ve got to invest in our nation’s counter-drone programs if we want to deter adversaries from gathering information on Americans,” he added.

“Repeated incidents involving unknown drones over American airspace must be addressed. That is why I am leading a charge to update DOD’s authorities to detect and stop these drones when they are over military facilities,” Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) said in a post to X.

New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy similarly emphasized to reporters on Monday that officials were taking the sightings “deadly seriously” and he participated in discussions with the White House and Homeland Security leaders “pretty much all day” on Sunday.

What people are seeing are “apparently very, as I understand it, very sophisticated. The minute you get eyes on them, they go dark,” Murphy said. “We’re obviously most concerned about sensitive targets, and sensitive critical infrastructure. So we’ve got military assets, we’ve got utility assets, we’ve got the president-elect — one of his homes here.”

The FBI released a statement last week stating that investigators were seeking any information from the public on “the cluster of what look to be drones and a possible fixed-wing aircraft” along the Raritan River in New Jersey. Suspected drones have also been spotted in New York’s Staten Island and Brooklyn.

Rep. Tom Kean (R-NJ), whose district is where many of the sightings in the Garden State have been reported, expressed dissatisfaction with the lack of answers in a post to X on Monday.

“I join thousands of New Jersey residents in deep frustration regarding the growing concerns over drones operating in our skies. The safety and privacy of our residents must be a top priority, and right now, both are being put at risk,” Kean said.

He added, “I am calling for the Department of Homeland Security, the Federal Aviation Administration, and other appropriate federal agencies to deploy greater resources to investigate and address this escalating issue. Additionally, an in-depth public briefing from authorities should take place immediately.”

“The people of New Jersey deserve answers, and I will continue to demand accountability to ensure their rights and security are fully protected,” Kean concluded.

Then there is the fact that for some time there has been reporting coming out of the Middle East regarding the Iranians having and using a capability to interfere with satellite connections and GPS signals. In short, that crazy story about a drone messing with a car’s clock might not be so crazy after all.

And, finally, we know for certain that the Iranians did, in fact, launch a drone carrier recently. They do have a drone mother ship.

A container ship that Iran has spent the past few years turning into a militarized drone carrier left its home port for the first time in mid-November. While that particular vessel is believed to be undergoing sea trials near Iran, the fact that the Iranians did build at least one such vessel suggests it is at least possible that they built another one.

In fact, the Iranians did modify at least one other commercial vessel into what is called an expeditionary sea base. That vessel, the Shahid Mahdavi, is known to be able to carry helicopters, drones, special forces units, and missiles.

What all that adds up to is anyone’s guess, but it suggests we should not simply dismiss what is happening as some form of mass hysteria. Maybe as a starting point, somebody could figure out if there actually is an Iranian mother ship off the coast of New Jersey.