An alarm has erupted after 15 powerful agricultural spray drones were stolen in a suspected coordinated heist in New Jersey last month. A report from The High Side said the FBI is investigating the theft amid fears the machines could be used to disperse dangerous materials.
Capabilities of Agricultural Drones
Agricultural drones are built for precision and designed to disperse large amounts of liquid over targeted areas using programmed GPS routes. Experts warned the drones, commonly used to spray agricultural chemicals, could potentially be misused if they fell into the wrong hands.
Steve Lazarus, a retired FBI agent, told The High Side: 'The bureau is freaked out for a good reason. These aren't hobby drones with cameras. They're industrial sprayers designed to carry and disperse significant amounts of liquid quickly and with precision.' He added that agricultural drones are capable of treating wide areas in a matter of minutes using pre-programmed GPS routes, a feature designed for efficient farming but one that could be dangerous if misused.
FBI Response and Historical Context
When asked about the reported theft of the drones, an FBI spokesperson told the Daily Mail: 'We don't have a comment.' The unsolved theft has revived fears that date back to the post-9/11 era, when officials warned terrorists could use crop-dusting aircraft to disperse biological or chemical agents capable of causing mass casualties across the US, according to The High Side report.
According to the report, the drones were stolen in March in what investigators described as a coordinated and technically advanced theft. Reports have stated that the stolen drones are capable of dispersing large volumes of liquid across wide areas, a feature that experts said could pose serious risks if misused. Lazarus warned of 'ridiculously bad' consequences and 'a potential nightmare scenario' if terrorists get their hands on the machines.
Value and Capacity of Stolen Drones
Agricultural spray drones typically retail for between $15,000 and $30,000 each, placing the total value of the theft between roughly $225,000 and $450,000. Most large agricultural spray drones carry between about 10 and 40 gallons of liquid per flight, spraying up to 30 acres - roughly the size of 23 football fields.
Federal officials have repeatedly warned about the risks posed by commercial drones falling into the wrong hands. The Department of Homeland Security has previously cautioned that US cities are not fully prepared to defend against weaponized drones, while lawmakers have raised concerns about agricultural drones capable of dispersing liquids over wide areas.
Previous Drone Incidents in New Jersey
The drone theft also comes after New Jersey was plagued by unknown aerial vehicles for months in 2024. The objects were first reported in Morris County near the Picatinny Arsenal and over Trump's Bedminster golf course. Newly released documents obtained by The War Zone through the Freedom of Information Act reveal what police on the ground actually saw.
The records describe officers across the state spotting large unidentified drones flying in coordinated formations, sometimes in groups of more than a dozen. Several reports said the aircraft hovered over critical infrastructure, including reservoirs, power substations, research laboratories and military facilities. While many sightings were later attributed to misidentified aircraft, stars or planets, law enforcement officers across the state documented dozens of incidents involving unusual drones operating near critical infrastructure and sensitive locations.
In one incident, multiple drones forced a New Jersey State Police medevac helicopter to abort a landing before several appeared to follow it to another location. Air traffic controllers also reported unidentified drones flying through restricted airspace near Trenton-Mercer Airport at speeds approaching 170 miles per hour, prompting warnings to pilots. Other officers described triangular or fixed-wing drones significantly larger than consumer models, some reportedly the size of a small car and possibly capable of jamming radar signals. The thousands of pages of emails, police reports and internal memos show law enforcement officials repeatedly warning that the aircraft could be military-grade and potentially carrying explosive payloads.
When President Donald Trump returned to office in January 2025, his administration said the drones were approved by the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) for research and other purposes, but provided no further details.
