Parley
Known around here
Security experts share startling theory about who may be behind mysterious drones in New Jersey and why
The mysterious drones that have been tormenting New Jersey residents for weeks could be part of a top-secret government program, security experts told The Post Tuesday — as lawmakers push for answers over the troubling sightings.
The feds have been mum about the daily drone activity in Morris, Passaic, Bergen and Hunterdon counties and beyond since the gizmos were first spotted on Nov. 18.
But several experts said the US government might be behind the unsettling flights — which could be part of a super-secret military program meant to test new hardware before it hits the battlefield.
“My first guess is these are potentially government programs kept within what’s known as a ‘Special Access Program,’ which is purposely put together to keep even the most cleared people out — it truly is to keep it secret,” said Clint Emerson, a retired Navy SEAL and owner of security company Escape the Wolf.
“That’s why the government’s like, ‘We don’t know.’ They’re being truthful,” he said, adding that the circle could be as small as a dozen officials. “They don’t even know the program exists.”
Emerson said it’s impossible to know what the drones might be doing — but he suspects the secret is the technology they’re carrying, not the devices themselves.
“It could be different types of collection capabilities — so, different types of cameras, like high-definition, infrared or thermal,” he said.
A second payload, for instance, could be hardware that grabs all the cellphone data in a given environment.
The mysterious drones that have been tormenting New Jersey residents for weeks could be part of a top-secret government program, security experts told The Post Tuesday — as lawmakers push for answers over the troubling sightings.
The feds have been mum about the daily drone activity in Morris, Passaic, Bergen and Hunterdon counties and beyond since the gizmos were first spotted on Nov. 18.
But several experts said the US government might be behind the unsettling flights — which could be part of a super-secret military program meant to test new hardware before it hits the battlefield.
“My first guess is these are potentially government programs kept within what’s known as a ‘Special Access Program,’ which is purposely put together to keep even the most cleared people out — it truly is to keep it secret,” said Clint Emerson, a retired Navy SEAL and owner of security company Escape the Wolf.
“That’s why the government’s like, ‘We don’t know.’ They’re being truthful,” he said, adding that the circle could be as small as a dozen officials. “They don’t even know the program exists.”
Emerson said it’s impossible to know what the drones might be doing — but he suspects the secret is the technology they’re carrying, not the devices themselves.
“It could be different types of collection capabilities — so, different types of cameras, like high-definition, infrared or thermal,” he said.
A second payload, for instance, could be hardware that grabs all the cellphone data in a given environment.