The mysterious drones that have been tormenting New Jersey residents for weeks may be part of a top-secret government program, security experts told The Post on Tuesday — as lawmakers push for answers to the disturbing sightings.

Since the things were first discovered on November 18, the government has remained silent about daily drone activity in Morris, Passaic, Bergen and Hunterdon counties and beyond.

But several experts said the US government could be behind the troubling flights – which could be part of a top-secret military program designed to test new hardware before it goes into play.

“My first guess is that these may be government programs administered under a so-called ‘Special Access Program’ that was deliberately put together to keep out even the most acquitted people – the point is really to keep it secret said Clint Emerson, a retired Navy SEAL and owner of the security company Escape the Wolf.

“That’s why the government says, ‘We don’t know.’ They are honest,” he said, adding that the circle could include up to a dozen officers. “They don’t even know the program exists.”

Emerson said it’s impossible to know what the drones might do – but he suspects the secret lies in the technology they carry, rather than the devices themselves.

“It could be different types of sensing capabilities – so different types of cameras, like high-resolution, infrared or thermal cameras,” he said.

For example, a second payload could be hardware that collects all cell phone data in a specific environment.

“How much data can we collect with this? Let’s say we have 10 drones, they fly in a grid. How much mobile traffic can we accommodate? No actual conversations. But only the signature of millions of cell phones. What can 10 drones pick up as they fly over an area?”

“This is a legitimate test,” he said. “They don’t invade your privacy. This is legitimate data. And that’s Af-King ability.”

And what better place to do this than New Jersey, the most densely populated state in the country?

“That would be my first guess: It’s a very closely monitored program, and they’re doing what they need to do to make sure their technology actually works,” Emerson said.

The strangest part?

If it is, the people running it wouldn’t have to say a word.

“The beauty of a (special access program) is that they’re kind of in their own lawless little world,” Emerson said. “You can do whatever you want and you don’t have to tell anyone.”

Kelly McCann, a security expert and former Naval special missions officer who worked for the Office of Naval Research, echoed Emerson’s comments, saying he thought the administration was testing some “operational capabilities.”

“It’s weird how we’re supposed to have control of the sky — but this happens and nobody says shit?” McCann, a frequent Fox News contributor, told The Post.

“I don’t buy it. The technology exists to drop one or all of them and that’s not the case? Bulls-t.”

That’s probably not much consolation to New Jersey politicians grappling with a barrage of complaints about the low-flying devices.

Republican Rep. Chris Smith, who represents much of South Jersey, said Monday that the state’s residents deserve “swift and bold action” from the government to investigate and address the situation.

“Understandably, New Jersey residents are deeply concerned about this significant and recurring phenomenon – and the muted response so far from our state and federal authorities is completely unacceptable,” Smith said in a statement.

“As we saw with the Chinese spy balloon last year, our fiercest adversaries will stop at nothing to monitor our homeland and threaten our national security.”

Meanwhile, state Sen. Jon Bramnick, a Republican from the state’s 21st Legislative District, said Tuesday that New Jersey “should issue a limited state of emergency banning all drones until the public receives an explanation regarding these multiple sightings,” according to one Statement on the GOP Senate Republicans website.

On Monday, the governor told Fox News that he “doesn’t blame people for being frustrated” but reiterated that there doesn’t appear to be a threat.

“We see no evidence — and that includes Homeland Security, the FBI, the Secret Service, our state police and agencies at all levels of government — the most important thing is that we see no public safety concerns,” Murphy said.

“Still, it’s really frustrating that we don’t have any further answers as to where they come from and why they do what they do,” he continued, adding that there were 49 drone sightings as of Sunday evening.

Murphy added that he spoke with White House and Homeland Security officials on Sunday and “hopes we get answers sooner than later.”

“They’re obviously…very sophisticated,” he said of the plane. “As soon as you see them, they go dark. Of course, we are most concerned about sensitive targets and critical infrastructure.”

Federal authorities — who have said they are investigating the sightings — appear similarly concerned, and the Federal Aviation Administration has restricted drone flights over the Picatinny Arsenal in Morris County and the Trump National Golf Club in Somerset

But no one in local or federal law enforcement has offered a motive for the late-night flights — even as witness videos flood the Internet.

“Unfortunately, we don’t have many answers and we don’t want to guess or hypothesize about what’s going on,” FBI spokeswoman Amy J. Thoreson told NJ.com last week.

“We’re doing everything we can to find out.”