With current consumer grade drones this scenario is more like 10 miles with a 1 lb explosive payload with automated triggering, no operator interaction (remote turned off) for flight and delivery, a false home point broadcasting (to make point of origin impossible to track), and an approach speed of up to 80 kph or better. If one is up to nefarious means then legal limits such as 400 ft max altitude can be thrown out as well, commercially available consumer grade drones can easily reach altitudes of 10,000 ft. There are few more wrinkles that can be added to the scenario that could make it more devastating without work that I'll not discuss here.

I'm a technology junkie with an OCD streak that spend a decade in the security industry doing vulnerability assessments, so yes, I have thought this through and even done proof of concept testing. This is a viable concern if someone is so inclined to understand the technology and it scares the heck out of me. Yes there is evolving anti-drone technology but like most similar technology it is reactive and rarely proactive.

As far as the current rash of sightings go, I've watched dozens of the videos of these "sightings" and every single one was obvious to me to be manned aircraft or other explainable objects. Don't forget, we are talking about New Jersey (I've family there and have lived there for several years).

Thanks Don. Good to know that my thinking is not that far off - on the other hand, not so good.
My other concern is that once it happens there will be a spate of copycat events.

The sick copycats will definitely be a problem.
FYI, the Ukrainians have been using this method for a while - $1000 drone + $500 had grenade placed properly will take out a $20,000,000 tank, a pretty good ROI.

100% this.

A (very) large percentage of these YouTube videos are actually planes & such mis-identified as drones.

But there is less than a zero chance that nation states such as China are flying car-sized drones around New Jersey & the government is unaware, can't identify them, and/or is allowing it.

IF there are unidentified drones flying around secretly at night, it's being done by some government agency.

Where are the "Jewish space lasers" when you need them?
😮😡😠🤬

Drones Every Night
 

We see the drones in the same spot every night. Just walked outside at dusk and can see them in the sky way up. Is this a drone club here?

Anyone notice that there has not been much said lately about the drone activity up in the northeast? What changed?

They were not drones?

The wording. Look up "gravitic propulsion".