Seems like an opportunity for a training exercise. Have the FAA put a TFR in place and let the national guard interdict, ECW and such. Take control, land it in the x-ray scanner, check for explosives then take it apart and get telemetry data. The US taught Ukraine how to do this with great success. If no joy on ECW, disassemble them in the sky.
If the drones were legit they would be broadcasting their ID as would the controllers and they would be within visible range unless they have the approved part 107 on file or part 107 waiver and approval for long range drone usage.
If these are not really drones and it is just mass hysteria the national guard would rule that out rather fast. As a bonus there is no added cost to the tax payer aside from the small fuel expense to route around the TFR which pilots are accustom to. This is just swapping out one training exercise with another.
I disagree, for the same reason the US doesn't send an SM-6 up to greet every plane without an IFF turned on. It's an expensive exercise in endangering human lives, not a valiant defense of homeland security. Understanding the battlespace is a crucial part of modern warfare and soldiers aren't going to blind-fire on a weird drone unless it presents an immediate, credible threat.
Take the AIM-120s off your F-16 and put a FLIR pod on it, track the drones to wherever they land. Record the platform, dazzle it if it's got cameras or EO sensors, and send a few decoys out if you want to bait it into revealing last-resort defenses against a JDAM-like weapon. Then, you destroy it. Hell, if it's an unmanned naval platform you could also just send a couple Marines out in a Chinook to lift it to the Pentagon. America's weapons are nice, but we can do a lot more than just blow stuff up.
A 30mm round plowing through someone’s living room because some bath water IQ nitwit thought they saw an alien is not a valid use of government resources. Even if they’re from Jersey.
You send in a supersonic fighter because no conventional drone is going to escape it. Dogfighting it isn't necessary, it's doubtful they'd detect you at all if your fighter is loitering at 10,000ft. Eventually the drone is going to run out of power, and you can keep sending more fighters to relieve whichever jet is on duty (if necessary).
Apaches are cool and all, but if cost is your concern then it's probably cheaper to send a single pilot in a single-seat F-16 even if the avgas costs more. Even if you gotta wait 4 hours for your target to go home, it's still probably cheaper than a single AMRAAM.
What it would come down to is that an Air National Guard unit is well prepared to intercept something in the sky (although a slow, low flying drone might be tricky). It's pretty extreme to actually do that, of course, and just observing the thing would always be an option.
An Army National Guard unit might have Apaches available, but putting one in the air in short order to perform air intercepts is not their mission.
Drones are generally too slow and have too small of a radar footprint to engage with a fighter jet. Helicopters are a better tool. Unless they're very large drones than most missiles on the jet won't really be applicable. You can't shoot down a tiny front with radar or heat seeking missiles.
Most plausible theory I have heard yet. [1] disclaimer: prepper channel, some here may perceive it as nutty. Nuke sensors would explain why the guard is not touching them.
As a follow up, it's being communicated that we knew about these drones for 6 years. Not sure I buy it. They have been showing up in multiple states, not just the army post that had the TFR. Or it's mass hysteria.
If the drones were legit they would be broadcasting their ID as would the controllers and they would be within visible range unless they have the approved part 107 on file or part 107 waiver and approval for long range drone usage.
If these are not really drones and it is just mass hysteria the national guard would rule that out rather fast. As a bonus there is no added cost to the tax payer aside from the small fuel expense to route around the TFR which pilots are accustom to. This is just swapping out one training exercise with another.