Remember late last year, when the U.S. east coast was plagued by mystery drones buzzing military installations, Donald Trump’s Bedminster (N.J.) golf course, and other sensitive areas, and the government assured us that — while they hadn’t the foggiest notion of what those things actually were — they definitely were not a threat to our security?

One particularly interesting hypothesis came from New Jersey’s Republican Congressman Jeff Van Drew, who claimed he had heard from “high sources” that the drones detected over his state were originating from an Iranian “mothership” in the Atlantic:

“That mothership … is off the East Coast of the United States of America. They’ve launched drones into everything that we can see or hear. These are from high sources. I don’t say this lightly. [They should be] shot down.” [Bernd Debusmann, Jr., BBC News, December 12, 2024.]

But we were reassured by Connecticut’s Democrat Representative James Himes — on the always-reliable Fox News Sunday show — that he had good news:

“Now, let me say something that I know with confidence. It is not the Iranians. It is not the Chinese. They aren’t Martians. I know that’s very unsatisfying for people who want a Hollywood movie out of this.” [John Bacon and Thao Nguyen, USA Today, December 16, 2024.]

What a relief that was! But still, what were they?

Then things quieted down, the drones swhooshed out of the news, and in April of this year we learned that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) was testing systems to detect drones in New Jersey . . . presumably the same drones we had been told not to worry about.

By that time, the Trump team had taken over the lunatic asylum in Washington, and the new Transportation Secretary, Sean Duffy, told us the earlier sightings in New Jersey were a “drone fiasco under the last administration,” assuring the public:

“This administration has taken a completely different approach, radical transparency. The FAA is doing this to ensure we can properly detect drones in our airspace and make sure they don’t interfere with airplane navigation systems … This is about protecting our national security and American safety.” [Pete Muntean, CNN, April 15, 2025.]

And we’ve all slept more soundly since then, haven’t we?

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But wait . . . What’s happening now in Europe? The past few weeks have seen a drone invasion that leaves last year’s U.S. experience in the shade. It started in Poland on September 10th, when a swarm of Russian drones overflew Polish airspace, prompting NATO to scramble military aircraft to intercept them and shoot some of them down.

The logical assumption here is that this was entirely unrelated to last year’s U.S. sightings; these were not Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UPAs, formerly referred to as UFOs), but were related to Russia’s ongoing invasion of neighboring Ukraine.

But then Denmark began reporting sightings in various areas, including above or near the Karup Air Base, the country’s biggest military base. On September 22nd, Copenhagen Airport — Scandinavia’s largest airport — was forced to shut down temporarily, creating major delays.

And now Germany is investigating claims of unidentified drones that appear to have been spying on critical infrastructure in multiple areas. Regional Interior Minister Sabine Sutterlin-Waack told a parliamentary committee that flying objects of “various types and sizes” had been spotted, including a “combined drone formation” over a university hospital and a power plant, as well as sightings over government buildings, an oil refinery, and military bases. [Associated Press, October 4, 2025.]

Munich Airport has been shut down twice in less than 24 hours following two additional drone sightings, causing serious delays for at least 6,500 passengers. [Id.]

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So, of course, the question inevitably arises: “WTF??!!!”

Well, don’t look at me; I don’t have the answer. But there seem to be a few possibilities.

First, this rash of sightings might be, as some suspect, a Russian attempt to gauge NATO’s defensive capabilities in the event of a real invasion. That, to me, makes eminently good sense, and could actually have an advantageous effect in that it has spurred many European countries to increase their defensive positions . . . just in case “Mad Vlad” Putin is up to something even more malevolent.

Second, it could conceivably be a whole bunch of civilian mischief-makers being really stupid. But that’s doubtful — there are just too many of them, they’re too widespread, and they’re too sophisticated.

Which still leaves us with the unanswered questions about last year’s U.S. sightings. Maybe . . . just maybe . . . those really were extraterrestrials; and when they got a look at the incoming U.S. administration, they realized we were beyond salvation, left us alone, and decided to focus instead on the lovely cities of Europe, where they hoped to find that the older, more entrenched civilizations are . . . well . . . more civilized.

But then . . .

*. *. *

On second thought, maybe E.T. would be better off staying at home. We Earthlings have obviously gone batshit crazy.

Just sayin’ . . .

Brendochka
10/5/25