Just call it Operation Drone Home.
New Jersey officials are searching for clues to the mysterious drones spotted in the skies above the Garden State for nearly a month now — and The Post got an inside look at their new beachfront headquarters.
The police surveillance trailer, parked right on Vision Beach in Seaside Heights, has three massive TV screens, from which deputies can track airplane traffic above. J.C. RiceThe Ocean County Sheriff’s Office’s Drone Command Center, stationed right on Vision Beach in Seaside Heights, has three massive TV screens so deputies can track airplane traffic overhead, Ocean County Sheriff Michael Mastronardy said.
“No one has actually seen [the drones] take off or land,” Mastronardy.
“Think about that. How come no one has seen them take off or land?”
With the command center, “when we get a complaint [about a drone], we can look [to see] if there’s a plane over it or not,” he told The Post.
Ocean County Sheriff Mike Mastronardy watches flights from the Drone Command Center in Seaside Heights. J.C. Rice
Mastronardy has had his officers patrolling the skies with their own drones. J.C. RiceDeputies are still unable to monitor drones with the technology though, just airplanes.
But it helps investigators “debunk” possible drone sightings, the sheriff explained.
The drone command post has been up and running for more than a week now.
Ocean County Sheriff Drone Pilot Alex Trust poses with one of the county’s drones. J.C. Rice“It gives shelter,” said Mastronardy.
“Sheriffs can sit in here and have their meals. We have cameras monitoring the coast.”
They’ve yet to capture video of any of the mysterious drones.
Recent drone sightings have Jersey residents on edge. J.C. Rice“One officer reported on Sunday night, I think it was just before 8 p.m., that she saw 50 drones coming off the ocean,” said Mastronardy.
“She took some images, so we got some special cameras out now to get some pictures of these items.”
Do you have footage of drones over the skies of New Jersey or New York? Send it to The Post at drones@nypost.com.
Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) held a press conference on the Seaside Heights beach Saturday, and said he’s drafting new legislation that would give police precincts the authority to shoot drones down.
“Think of it as trespassing in the sky,” Smith said.
Seventeen public officials discussed the drones during Saturday’s press conference. J.C. RiceOfficials asked residents not to shoot at the drones, as footage surfaced overnight on social media showing people firing tracer bullets at one of the aircrafts.
There have been no drone sightings during the daytime, officials added.
