What officials, whom from where exactly? For all you know they don't exist hell they're not even claiming they're in the dod or any intelligence branch. What if it's the white house janitor? That's sorta the issue with anonymous sources, they can publish it and when it comes out it was bullshit they can go well we were just working with the information we had.

They're producing some, sure. They aren't producing export amounts or they wouldn't be importing Iranian drones, no one wants to pay markup especially if you have better at home anyway.

It's a form of propaganda, release a story that makes you look more capable then you are and then deny it. Every country does this the US and Russia especially so.