[tigerBL00D]

I would not write this.off as hysteria. It's important to consider motivation of potential actors. Every advanced rocket guidance system uses cameras to zero in on its targets during the final approach. You can't rely on GPS at that point. To do a good job you need to know what your target looks like and high resolution drone imagery helps a lot.

[exitb]

Why put lights on the drones? Why not map during the day?

[theodric]

My theory was that assuming these are some kind of adversary drone, they seem to have read and understood the law and are making some effort to remain within its bounds so that 4th Amendment and other relevant protections apply to them. That means operating at the legally-allowed altitude, running navigation lights, etc...but then somehow deciding not to run the required ADS-B ID that would, in theory, give away who they are and allow their comings and goings to be tracked.

Causing a collision with another plane that might then fall onto a residential neighborhood is a great way to get the entire weight of the government to come down on you, have the remains of your craft picked apart, and have your cover thoroughly blown. Don't mess with the NTSB!

I realize this theory has holes, but it's what I've got, and I feel like it's making more effort at explanation than e.g. the retired Air Force Major-General who was quoted as saying "they're flying with lights on, they're flying where people will see them; that tells me... there's nothing nefarious about it, or we're dealing with the world's dumbest terrorist."[1]

As to why they don't fly during the day: it seems that they don't want to be seen, and have been observed to "go dark" when confronted.[2] Incidentally, that's also what "The Angry Astronaut" said in his video posted on 1 Dec [3] about the craft he attempted to chase down in the United Kingdom next to the Lakenheath US Air Force installation-- well before this behavior was reported in the USA.

[1] https://youtu.be/qpFz-SPCSJc?t=50

[2] https://www.newsweek.com/mystery-new-jersey-drones-go-dark-w...

[3] https://youtu.be/1yglSSzP8Qk?t=331

[pc86]

Could be multi-phase testing? Easily-acquired lighted drones in one phase, dark drones in a future phase?

[tlrobinson]

Or not even imagery collection, but testing to see what our response is like. If we're scrambling and unable to explain/contain it, that's useful for an adversary to know a little about our current defensive capabilities.

[stormfather]

Or testing our own response. If we want to test what China's response might be, both public and military, but its too provocative to try, we might try it on ourselves.

[lxgr]

That’s not true. Many missiles exclusively use GNSS and/or INS, for example ATACMS and MLRS.

[dekhn]

do you have a source for ATACMS using GNSS not GPS?