Feds to deploy ‘state-of-the-art’ detection system to NY as drone swarms have experts baffled

New York Sen. Chuck Schumer on Sunday called for the federal government to deploy recently declassified radar technology to finally identify the mysterious swarms of drones alarming the tri-state region.

The Senate Democratic leader addressed mounting frustration at the response soon after Gov. Kathy Hochul announced that the feds were finally “deploying a state-of-the-art drone detection system” to New York.

Hochul did not elaborate on exactly what that system was, nor how or where it would be used, but stressed that the area still needs more help to address the baffling sightings.

However, Schumer specifically called on the Department of Homeland Security to send in the Robin, a 360-degree radar that can quickly identify drones and track them back to their landing zones.

“New Yorkers have tremendous questions about [the drones]. We are going to get the answers,” Schumer said Sunday.

“You should not have to shake an eight ball to see what it is. There ought to be better technology — and there is. We need it here in New York,” he said.

“We’ve talked to Homeland Security and the FBI, and told them, ‘We need answers quickly.’”

The initial need is for the Robin, Schumer said, noting that the recently declassified radar technology can be quickly mounted to another drone or an airplane and “can go anywhere” to trace the unidentified flying objects.

“Because it’s 360 degrees, it has a much better chance of detecting” what the mysterious, well-lit objects are, he said.

“There are hundreds of companies all over the globe that make drones. We don’t know which ones these are. This radar will help us find out which they are, and then we can go talk to the company,” Schumer added. 

“We need the Robin system here. That’s what we’re asking for.”

Schumer said he is confident they are not US military drones because “the military would have told us that.” 

He also noted that despite mounting concern, there appears to be no laws broken — “unless they are near a military base, unless near an airport.”

Still, he and Hochul are both pushing for legislation that will force all drones to be registered.

Hochul said it was part of “further assistance” still needed from Congress

“Passing the Counter-UAS Authority Security, Safety, and Reauthorization Act will give New York and our peers the authority and resources required to respond to circumstances like we face today,” she said.

The mysterious drones have been jetting over the East Coast, zeroing in primarily on New Jersey, for weeks now — with at least 3,000 sightings reported in the Garden State so far in December alone, though reports have been flooding in since Nov. 18. 

Local and state officials in New Jersey have been up in arms the past week after the Biden administration’s national security adviser brushed off the saga, claiming the unusual objects are planes or helicopters that people are simply mistaking for drones.

Do you have footage of drones over the skies of New Jersey or New York? Send it to The Post at drones@nypost.com.

While drone experts warn the flying objects may be coming from an adversary or Iranian mothership, the Pentagon has denied these claims, and authorities have stated that there is no known threat as a result of their presence. 

President-elect Donald Trump is among those who have called on the feds to “shoot them down.”

Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said Sunday that certain agencies within the Department of Homeland Security have the power to “incapacitate” drones. “But we need those authorities expanded,” he said, without saying exactly how.

The drones don’t appear to be linked to foreign governments, Mayorkas said.