> ... the nearby naval warfare research center, ...

I'd be interested in more details (either here or via e-mail to my username at gmail) as to where you've seen these flying. I'm basically in between Bloomington and Crane (which is, I assume, where you're referring to) and have several friends who work at various levels in law enforcement in the area and even more friends who work at Crane.

This is the first I've heard of anything like this in the area, though.