The US Government has said the drone sightings are not a hazard to air traffic nor do they pose a threat to national security. Many of the drones have been sighted around military installations and equipment which, given their “no-threat” official position they probably know what they are and either can’t or won’t say.
Based on the drone’s size (larger than some small manned aircraft flown by citizen pilots), observable flight time (2+ hours), altitude (above 400ft/~120m), and the number of them, they are almost certainly a registered and monitored commercial drone or a defense contractor test.
It’s likely propaganda because of it’s timing to the CEO shooting and the way in which the state(s), federal government, and media have been responding. A US senator claimed that they were from an “Iranian Mothership” off the coast of the United States. Governors have been giving the public’s curiosity an official voice. The (social) media has been amplifying the story because those companies have CEO’s who also have made their fortunes on screwing over regular folks.
I imagine from a certain perspective this all might sound like the conspiracy nut has stopped taking her meds, but it’s much more banal than that. Civil unrest is not good to maintain the status quo which is what governments and media organizations are (broadly) designed to do. Most of their efforts are not malicious; they’re really just trying to keep the peace.
tl;dr The drones are a distraction from the growing civil unrest for the subset of the population that is fantasy prone to get distracted by.
edit: My knowledge of aviation law seems to have been largely wrong. A response to this comment clarifies the rules and regulations regarding drones. Based on the information they shared, I still think the parts of the government that care about our airspace would be aware of craft the size and altitude of the drones sighted.
It’s also important to note that any aircraft above that ceiling would be on normal air traffic control screens and need to be licensed with the FAA (maybe there is an aviation nerd who could expand on or correct that)
Not really a “nerd” but:
In the USA:
Drones are not allowed more than 400 feet above ground level (you can increase altitude if the land starts going higher like on a mountain)
Drones can go more than 400 feet above ground level if you have a (part 107) license and is within 400 feet of a man made structure, up to 400 feet above the manmade structure. (Eg: You can fly 1000 ft if you are within 400 feet of a building and the building is 600 ft high, and you have a (part 107) license; 600 ft building height + 400 ft additional high you can go above = 1000 ft total limit).
Drones that fly within 5 miles of an airport require a LAANC approval (can be done online or via an app). Before the LAANC system existed, you used to not be able to legally fly drones anywhere within 5 miles of an airport (I mean, you could always do illegal flights, I’m sure some people did that).
Drones under 250 grams are not required to be registered nor require a license. (For recreational purposes) However, even for recreational purposes, you are supposed to take a “TRUST” certificate/test that basically is a “I Read The Rules” certificate that they don’t really keep track of.
Drones 250 grams or above require a registration that cost like $5 to do online. You’ll have to give them any serial numbers. And also mark the drone with a registration number that they give you. And again, if this is recreational only, you still don’t need a license, just register and have fun. (But the “TRUST” certificate is still a thing that you’re supposed to have)
If you use drones for any “commercial” purposes, regardless of the weight of drone you also need to register the drone, and also you need a (part 107) license when operating for commercial purposes. This includes using it for roof inspection for a company, or even for youtube videos that are monetized.
Also recent regulations require there to be a “Remote ID” system for drones that requires registration (basically drones under 250 grams that are used recreationally are exempt). This actively broadcasts a signal via bluetooth that authorities (or karens) can scan and would show the location it took off and the location where the remote is located.
Authorities probably could already do that before remote ID, but this just make it easier and more accurate.
Most manufacturers already have remote ID system added to new drones above 250 grams, and some manufacturers do not even allow you to disable it.
But for drones under 250 grams, manufacturers don’t bother with it, since its not required.
[Btw, I don’t think many people really care about FAA rules. They have this rule called “Line of Sight” rules basically you can’t fly further than your eyes can see it. Go on r/drones on reddit and basically nobody on that community follow this stupid rule. Aint nobody registering their toy drone lmao]
Also, something I just remembered, the FAA has authority over all air space. If they really wanted to stop whatever is going on, they could just announce a new rule on tv and say “Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for all US airspaces effective [Date for Tomorrow] and lasts indefinitely” then start arresting people for TFR violations, they always do this whenecer the president and presidential candidates are moving around, this seems very likely its some military test flights. Theres no way they haven’t just ordered the FAA to impose restrictions if this is anything else.
It is divisive propaganda. Probably.
The US Government has said the drone sightings are not a hazard to air traffic nor do they pose a threat to national security. Many of the drones have been sighted around military installations and equipment which, given their “no-threat” official position they probably know what they are and either can’t or won’t say.
Based on the drone’s size (larger than some small manned aircraft flown by citizen pilots), observable flight time (2+ hours), altitude (above 400ft/~120m), and the number of them, they are almost certainly a registered and monitored commercial drone or a defense contractor test.
It’s likely propaganda because of it’s timing to the CEO shooting and the way in which the state(s), federal government, and media have been responding. A US senator claimed that they were from an “Iranian Mothership” off the coast of the United States. Governors have been giving the public’s curiosity an official voice. The (social) media has been amplifying the story because those companies have CEO’s who also have made their fortunes on screwing over regular folks.
I imagine from a certain perspective this all might sound like the conspiracy nut has stopped taking her meds, but it’s much more banal than that. Civil unrest is not good to maintain the status quo which is what governments and media organizations are (broadly) designed to do. Most of their efforts are not malicious; they’re really just trying to keep the peace.
tl;dr The drones are a distraction from the growing civil unrest for the subset of the population that is fantasy prone to get distracted by.
edit: My knowledge of aviation law seems to have been largely wrong. A response to this comment clarifies the rules and regulations regarding drones. Based on the information they shared, I still think the parts of the government that care about our airspace would be aware of craft the size and altitude of the drones sighted.
Not really a “nerd” but:
In the USA:
Drones are not allowed more than 400 feet above ground level (you can increase altitude if the land starts going higher like on a mountain)
Drones can go more than 400 feet above ground level if you have a (part 107) license and is within 400 feet of a man made structure, up to 400 feet above the manmade structure. (Eg: You can fly 1000 ft if you are within 400 feet of a building and the building is 600 ft high, and you have a (part 107) license; 600 ft building height + 400 ft additional high you can go above = 1000 ft total limit).
Drones that fly within 5 miles of an airport require a LAANC approval (can be done online or via an app). Before the LAANC system existed, you used to not be able to legally fly drones anywhere within 5 miles of an airport (I mean, you could always do illegal flights, I’m sure some people did that).
Drones under 250 grams are not required to be registered nor require a license. (For recreational purposes) However, even for recreational purposes, you are supposed to take a “TRUST” certificate/test that basically is a “I Read The Rules” certificate that they don’t really keep track of.
Drones 250 grams or above require a registration that cost like $5 to do online. You’ll have to give them any serial numbers. And also mark the drone with a registration number that they give you. And again, if this is recreational only, you still don’t need a license, just register and have fun. (But the “TRUST” certificate is still a thing that you’re supposed to have)
If you use drones for any “commercial” purposes, regardless of the weight of drone you also need to register the drone, and also you need a (part 107) license when operating for commercial purposes. This includes using it for roof inspection for a company, or even for youtube videos that are monetized.
Also recent regulations require there to be a “Remote ID” system for drones that requires registration (basically drones under 250 grams that are used recreationally are exempt). This actively broadcasts a signal via bluetooth that authorities (or karens) can scan and would show the location it took off and the location where the remote is located.
Authorities probably could already do that before remote ID, but this just make it easier and more accurate.
Most manufacturers already have remote ID system added to new drones above 250 grams, and some manufacturers do not even allow you to disable it.
But for drones under 250 grams, manufacturers don’t bother with it, since its not required.
[Btw, I don’t think many people really care about FAA rules. They have this rule called “Line of Sight” rules basically you can’t fly further than your eyes can see it. Go on r/drones on reddit and basically nobody on that community follow this stupid rule. Aint nobody registering their toy drone lmao]
I wish I had more upvotes for you. Thank you for the clarification. I’ll edit my post to reflect that so as not to accidentally spread misinformation
Also, something I just remembered, the FAA has authority over all air space. If they really wanted to stop whatever is going on, they could just announce a new rule on tv and say “Temporary Flight Restriction (TFR) for unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) for all US airspaces effective [Date for Tomorrow] and lasts indefinitely” then start arresting people for TFR violations, they always do this whenecer the president and presidential candidates are moving around, this seems very likely its some military test flights. Theres no way they haven’t just ordered the FAA to impose restrictions if this is anything else.
Also, the vast majority of the sightings reported online are normal civilian aircrafts.