The bizarre swarms of drones the size of cars that have been flying over New Jersey for weeks have finally made it to heavily populated Essex County — home to Newark Liberty International Airport and a crucial US shipping port.
“I have a flight attendant who lives in Belleville call me and say, ‘Oh, my God, I see four of them over Route 21,’ which is the direct pattern of Newark,’’ said Michael Melham, mayor of the mid-sized Essex County town, to The Post on Friday.
“There were swarms and swarms of all up over Belleville last night,’’ Melham said.
“Everywhere you looked, in all directions, there were drones.
“I did see one close up. … They almost looked like small aircraft,’’ he said.
“They’re absolutely hovering over critical infrastructure, which is concerning if you don’t know the origins. … They seem to be doing a grid pattern. It seems as if they’re patrolling.’’
The terrifying high-tech flocks were first reported sporadically in more rural areas of the state around mid-November — with some reportedly the size of SUVs.
They have since become a nightly occurrence in some towns while spreading to scores of counties, including highly dense ones such as Essex, which includes the state’s most populous city, Newark, as well as the major international airport and mega-busy Port of Newark.
New Jersey Rep. Jeff Van Drew, whose local office is in Northfield in Atlantic County, ratcheted up concern earlier in the week when he claimed he was told by “highly reliable’’ sources with “top security access’’ that the drones “very possibly could be” sent by an Iranian “mother ship’’ off the coast.
The drones have been described as at least 6 feet in diameter with a range of about 15 miles and the battery life to stay in the air for as many as seven hours — feats that known such commercial craft can’t match.
Biden administration officials have denied the drones belong to the government — while claiming they pose no threats and are just “manned aircraft that are being operated lawfully.’’
The officials haven’t said who is manning them — and why they are being allowed to terrorize citizens and hover over crucial government infrastructure.
“If I had to speculate, I would say that our government is aware of some kind of threat, and we have deployed previously unknown assets [the drones] to … [be] our eyes and ears over our critical infrastructure,’’ Melham said.
“If one falls out of the sky, maybe we’ll get information that way — if men in black suits don’t come and collect it.’’
