[Erik816]

I'm not clear why it is assumed this is a "drone." From the article, it sounds like all that could be identified was a single green light. This seems like a classic UFO/UAP. Maybe it was a drone, but I don't see the evidence to make that conclusion based on this article.

[defaultname]

The article links a number of other sources. The device was described as a 5 ft x 3 ft quad copter -- standard drone arrangement, but larger. But too small to be manned.

By the contemporary, common use of the word, drone fits. Someone made a large scale version if the story is accurate.

[exporectomy]

Where did you get 5x3 ft quadcopter? I only found an FBI interviewee saying it was 4-6 feet diameter and unknown if it was quad or hex configuration. If they couldn't count the propellers, I wouldn't be confident they saw any propellers at all. Maybe it was fixed wing, for instance.

[defaultname]

https://jetcareers.com/forums/threads/quadcopter.307891/#pos...

I have no idea where that guy got the info but he's presumably in the area/industry there.

[taneq]

Because if you say you saw a drone you get believed, but if you say you saw a UFO you get treated like a crank?

[D13Fd]

I mean, it's an unmanned aircraft of some sort, and unmanned aircraft are typically called drones. What difference are you suggesting between "drone" and "UFO/UAP" in this context?

[Erik816]

Drone pretty clearly implies to me "a craft piloted remotely by a human." A UFO/UAP is an aerial phenomenon we can't currently identify. It could be a human piloted craft, it could be something else yet to be determined.

[D13Fd]

"Drone" also encompasses autonomous craft. So I really don't see the distinction here.

Even if you think it was aliens remotely piloting the craft, it's still a drone.

[yencabulator]

What a "drone" is not is e.g. ball lightning, which then again can count as a UFO.

[gentle]

It's a "drone" (mostly because the cops said it looked like a drone) until someone gives some sort of proof that it isn't.

[exporectomy]

People seeing UFOs are notorious for imposing their prejudices onto what they think they see. If they don't give an objective description of their observation but rather a conclusion like "drone" or "6 feet" (how did they estimate size without knowing speed or distance?), then it's not worth much.

[stjohnswarts]

I think it's because people simply don't believe there are non-human build "ufo's" flying around out there. This leads to the military being the most likely source if locals can't explain.