F-16s Pursue Unknown Craft Over Region

Washington Post ^ | July 27, 2002 | Steve Vogel

[steveo]

"It was this object, this light-blue object, traveling at a phenomenal rate of speed," Rogers said. "This Air Force jet was right behind it, chasing it, but the object was just leaving him in the dust. I told my neighbor, 'I think those jets are chasing a UFO.' " Click link to read the rest of the story.

[Poohbah]

One oldster I know was a radar officer on a destroyer in the Med in the late '50s. He swears that he watched an unidentified blip hover, then shoot straight up from 10000 feet up to 80000 feet, and then disappear in the space of seconds.

With the old mechanically-scanned (i.e., rotating) radars, he would not have seen this. Also, if he was on a height-finder (which he had to be), he wouldn't have been able to track anything from 10K to 80K--the antenna wouldn't tilt fast enough OR high enough.

The old-timer was yanking your leg. (BTW, my dad was a navy officer for twenty years, and spent another twenty years working on naval combat direction systems--and he's the one who told me I was getting BS'd when I heard a variant of this story.)

[Poohbah]

The version I heard was that a destroyer held a sonar contact that was moving at 300 MPH at a depth of 12,000 feet. Too bad most destroyers back then couldn't see a damn thing past 6,000 feet from the sonar dome...

[Quix]

Have been expecting such . . . "platforms" to make their appearance more visibly in the midst of all the international tensions.

We shall see . . .

[Quix]

They have their orders about what to say.

REALITY be . . . flushed.

[Quix]

This has happened lots of times. It gets lost in the noise and disinformation and the very skillfully generated incredulity on the part of the media and public.

[Quix]

Just one of the possibilities.

Then there's the contention that the Aurora's "2ndary"??? propulsion system is a back engineered UFO affair which uses clever ways to bend space/time/gravity or some such.

[Quix]

Nice to hear from you, FREIND!

[Quix]

Officials to make slipps of the tongue at times. But they quickly obsfucate and rationalize very effectively with the aid of the media and the incredulity long built up.

[Quix]

I've been told by one Air Force officer that he talked to LOTS AND LOTS OF Air Force pilots in his career and he NEVER TALKED TO ONE WHO HAD ****NOT**** SEEN UFO(S) AT LEAST ONCE. Or, said another way--every Air Force pilot he'd talked to had seen a UFO in their normal course of Air Force flying and/or job.

[Quix]

I wouldn't place bets on all of them being benign.

Of the 9 reported more common ET races dinking around with our planet and cultures, I don't know of any who have been conclusively demonstrated to be benign. They certainly don't tend to treat contactees in a benign way.

New Agers, will of course, say otherwise--as probably would the one worlders. Trust such if you wish.

BTW, if UFO'S do NOT exist--WHY does the Air Force academy have a whole chapter in one of their texts detailing in very serious, sobering terms the procedures to be followed when one is sighted etc. ???

[Quix]

HEY! WHERE DID YOU RUN INTO

"WET BIRDS FLY AT NIGHT"

It was a nonsense sentence used by my dissertation chairman in his dissertation research. I've never heard about it from any other source.

[StolarStorm]

I used to work for NASA and my father still does (in the capacity of mission controller). Everyone I worked with was a believer. They all had tales to tell. I have my own.

[VaBthang4]

"I have my own."

Yet somehow.....you dont tell them.

???

[semaj]

"- how was the target originally acquired? (Height-finder RADARS aren't used in search mode - but *may* be used to determine a target's height once detected on (or appearing on) the primary *search* RADAR ... "

PAR or Pulse Acquisition Radar (Constantly Rotating) is used to acquire targets at altitudes from roughly 15,000 to 90,000 feet.

"See, a horizontal scanning (rotating) "search" RADAR won't paint/detect overhead targets - and this is assuming that 50's destroyers were equipped with height-finder RADARs ..."

CWAR Constant Wave Acquisition Radar detects from about 22,000 to just above ground level for low flyers.

[_Jim]

PAR or Pulse Acquisition Radar (Constantly Rotating) is used to acquire targets at altitudes from roughly 15,000 to 90,000 feet.

Can you give me an AN/XX number on that particular RADAR, cause, I think you just laid out a line of BS.

See, they (Search RADARS and even Height-finders) all work on the principle of 'pulses' emitted at microwave frequencies, so, you have not enlighted anybody here, but, you are potentially embarrasing yourself ... bigtime ...

[_Jim]

CWAR Constant Wave Acquisition Radar detects from about 22,000 to just above ground level for low flyers.

Is your pespective set to the 1950's shipboard RADAR? (I don't think it is, and that's what we're discussing here. Technology has come a long way since the fifties ...)

CW RADARs are unsurpassed in terms of cost for their applications, but, those applications are limited ... that's why there is a host of other RADARS and for particular applications ...

[_Jim]

Have been expecting such . . . "platforms" to make their appearance more visibly in the midst of all the international tensions.

Ding ding ding!

We have a winner this evening for the most off-the-wall post!

[Quix]

Some people value their lives.

Some people value their pensions.

Some people don't want hassled.

Some people don't want loved ones hassled.

Some people have enough trouble sorting it all out themselves by themselves on their own overlooking a great peaceful meadow or beach. The idea of coping or bothering with all manner of ignorant and/or inexperienced opinions is not overly attractive.

I don't blame them.

Though I do think there are ways to get the stories out if they would persist in thinking it through and trying. Many do just before dying or leaving tapes or written documents to be discovered after their deaths.

[Quix]

Thanks for your kind support.

Is this a cash award?

I'm not sure whether to call your ignorance and inexperience blessed, unfortunate or enviably lacking.

Thousands of people would be glad to trade you their extensive experiences for your lack of experience. Alas, it is not to be. So they cope as best they can. Attitudes like yours are not overly helpful. Probably someone you know has had an experience. . . even someone you know and respect. Will they ever tell you about it? Highly unlikely. I think I know why.