A military analyst and retired U.S. Air Force colonel called on the White House to stop the “poof-poof” reports of drones buzzing over New Jersey – and take the claims seriously.

Col. Cedric Leighton told CNN on Friday that the Biden administration must stop telling residents of the Garden State not to “believe their own eyes” amid speculation about the origins of the mysterious flying objects, which also appeared in New York and Connecticut were spotted, are rampant.

“We need to know whether these are foreign assets or other assets that are doing something they shouldn’t be doing. “So this is one of the areas where the public should really be asked for help rather than saying you can’t believe your own eyes,” Leighton told the station.

“And that is really the crucial issue here. I mean, you know, the government needs to be responsive to the people and not basically just screw over what they say.”

White House National Security Council spokesman John Kirby dismissed concerns Wednesday, telling reporters that federal investigators have been unable to verify any of the more than 3,000 reports in recent weeks of car-sized drones hovering in the night sky.

Instead, he pointed out that most of the claims about mysterious flying devices are actually people confusing helicopters or planes that fly legally with drones — even as members of Congress have suggested that they could be malicious foreign companies .

The lack of information and lack of response from authorities has enraged New Jersey residents and lawmakers.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Van Drew (R-NJ) sounded the alarm this week when he made the bombshell claim that a “very reliable” source had told him that the drones could have come from an Iranian “mother ship” stationed offshore – a claim the Pentagon immediately claimed shut down without providing any further explanation.

He doubled down on his claims after the Pentagon’s firing, telling Fox News on Wednesday: “We’re not being told the truth” and that the Pentagon is “dealing with the American public like we’re stupid.”

Meanwhile, there were two unconfirmed reports of drone crashes Thursday evening in New Jersey, where skies were clear and flying conditions were favorable.

At 8:47 p.m. Thursday, a call came in over the Pequannock Township police scanner alerting officers to a suspected drone crash.

“A drone crashed in the resident’s backyard,” the emergency dispatcher said. “It’s small, the lights flash and it has a tail.”

An audio clip from an open-source police scanner suggested police were alerted to another drone that was shot down from power lines in Morris County around 9:35 p.m., reportedly sparking a flurry of drone activity.

“A drone fell from the sky next to the power lines at her home,” a dispatcher said.

“When she heard the crash, she reported that ten more drones had appeared and were circling the area.”

A decidedly unimpressed police officer responded: “A drone fell out of the sky at the reception. If it’s actually true, just don’t touch it until I get there.”

The Post has reached out to the Pequannock Police Department and the Morris County Sheriff’s Office for confirmation.

The strange sightings have sparked bipartisan concern in the tri-state area.

U.S. senators from the Empire and Garden states — Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Cory Booker and Senator-elect Andy Kim of New Jersey — co-signed a letter to the FBI, the Department of Homeland Security and the Federal Aviation Administration Wednesday urging them , to explain what is being done to “identify and address the source of these abuses.”

“We write out of urgent concern about the activities of unmanned aerial systems that have affected communities across New York and New Jersey in recent days,” the Democratic senators wrote, adding that “the ongoing nature of these drone incidents” had them “concerned.” . ”

Leighton said the drones could be something as simple as Amazon or FedEx testing a new delivery method — or perhaps even our own military deploying new equipment.

“The US government could do some kind of test, either a law enforcement agency or the military, and they could test some new technologies, but typically such tests don’t take place in a populated area,” he told CNN on Thursday evening.

Regardless, the lack of information is unsettling New Jersey residents.

Ari Perez, 26, is convinced she saw a drone over Wayne, New Jersey on Thursday.

“They scare the hell out of me,” Perez told the Post at the Craftsman restaurant bar in Fair Lawn, New Jersey.

“Me and my fiancée were on our way to the gym around 6:45pm this evening when we saw one, it was scary,” she said.

“We’re supposed to live in a safe country, but no one knows what’s going on.”