Oh, there are so many rumors! I agree. And again, why we need civilian scientists, volunteer folks who love this, since clearly the only way to motivate real science is money. Which is sad. And apparently, based on the emergency hearing on this, the folks in charge want more money and personnel, too. But I don't think it's a money problem, it's a lack of incentive problem.

Which brings me to your question, demonstrate this is a worthy subject. Per the hearing, they can't track these things. That's a problem. It needs to be solved. Per the hearing, they could be carrying dirty nukes, or bio hazards, they didn't use those words, but seriously- the words they used were enough to light a fire under folks.

Per Governor Murphy, these drones go dark when they put eyes on them. That statement needs clarification from the source. Clearly civilians and journalist have seen these. So is it a distance/proximity thing, or can the drones discern when sophisticated tracking is being applied and they employ stealth technology. That should interest military and scientists alike, but then again, your point is excellent, rumor, and obnoxious ambiguous statements from folks in charge may be amplifying something that doesn't need to be amplified.

Except, we have a mass incursion of drones, not just in New Jersey. It's all over the US. It seems to be associated with military bases or major airports. Airports would be a public safety concern, so how Murphy says there no threat to public sounds spurious, but no one is criticizing their statements. I just saw a video of 'drones' in France, and there are reports of activity in Russia and china, but I have not seen the evidence, so... rumor until confirmed?

Now, we can add some human mischief here. How many amateur drone or swarm folks will be creating hoaxes to add to the mystery or hysteria? That has to be sorted, too.

There are time when it just seems right that people who have the expertise to participate in resolving issues should just step forwards. Maybe we should stop relying on specific agency and have a more inter-denominational approach. (Sorry that's not the right word, but it wouldn't hurt if even all the religions unified to some degree. HA!)

I like your question. I hope it improves my thinking to better state my position that we could and should do more.