Swarm Of Unidentified Objects Seen Near US Military Sites: Report
An unidentified flying object struck a US Air Force F-16 fighter jet during a training mission over Arizona last year, damaging the aircraft and prompting concerns about a surge in mysterious aerial activity near American military sites, the New York Post reported.
According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) documents, first reported by The War Zone, the incident occurred in January 2023 when an "orange-white" uncrewed aerial system (UAS) collided mid-air with the canopy of a $63 million F-16 Viper, forcing it to be grounded. The term UAS typically refers to drones, though the object remains unidentified.
The incident is one of several unexplained aerial encounters reported near US Air Force training zones in Arizona since 2020. A day after the fighter jet incident, three more UAS encounters were flagged in the same region, highlighting the frequency and unusual nature of these sightings.
Former Pentagon investigator Luis Elizondo told News Nation that reports of unidentified aerial activity have spiked near Arizona's southern border.
"There's been a lot of activity, a lot of people reporting a lot of things," he said.
The FAA confirmed that it logs sightings of "Unidentified Aerial Phenomena" (UAP) when pilots report them to air traffic control. If corroborated with radar or other evidence, the data is shared with the US Department of Defence's All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office - the agency handling such national security cases.
Between May 2023 and June 2024, the office received 757 such reports, with only 49 cases marked "closed" so far.
Many of the objects spotted near Arizona's military ranges appear in small swarms, sometimes in groups of eight, flying at high altitudes. Some US officials, including former Customs and Border Protection advisor Ron Vitiello, suspect these could be advanced drones operated by foreign cartels for smuggling or surveillance.
"There's a possibility they're using cutting-edge technology we're not familiar with," Vitiello said, noting that cartel-funded drone systems have been used to smuggle drugs weighing up to 10 kilograms across the US-Mexico border.
"These groups have the resources to innovate constantly. That's part of their business model," he added.
The incidents come amid heightened scrutiny over aerial intrusions, following high-profile events like the Chinese spy balloon sighting in 2023.
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