F-16s Pursue Unknown Craft Over Region

Washington Post ^ | Saturday, July 27, 2002 | Steve Vogel

[Pro Consul]

"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.' "

Military officials confirm that two F-16 jets from Andrews Air Force Base were scrambled early yesterday after radar detected an unknown aircraft in area airspace. But they scoff at the idea that the jets were chasing a strange and speedy, blue unidentified flying object.

[Momaw Nadon]

I have no idea why his wings weren't swept.

I just thought it was appropriate to post pics of jets chasing unidentified flying objects in this thread.

[maquiladora]

Yeah, missile debris would have been found.

[Gunrunner2]

>>Something tells me that this UFO was NOT a Hog... :-)<<

Shplush. . .as he spits his coke all over the computer! Ha!

The A-10 flies with the fat-end first and takes bird strikes from the rear, BUT is still the best darned air-to ground killing machine out there.

[Marie]

The one my neighbor saw was cruising over Ft. Stewart, so I'm quite convinced it had something to do with our gov't. If it is US military, then they have some very interesting toys that they aren't sharing with the rest of us kids.

[berkeleybeej]

WTOP has a short article re the sighting on their website (http://www.wtopnews.com/) in their "local" section - something about Waldorf puts the U in UFO). Anyway, the fighters were chasing the blue light. So does the "full AB" (afterburner, right?) appear in FRONT of the jet?

[berned]

F-16's have been patrolling the eastern seaboard almost every day since 9-11. No one has EVER reported this kind of display (Read the article).

That it was reported the same instant as radar screens are going off at NORAD showing flying objects at the same kind of speeds, is beyond shrugging off with lame (no offense) excuses.

[Gunrunner2]

Could you cut'n paste the article. Maybe I'm blind, but can't find it.
Thanks.

[maquiladora]

There was a 2-hour documentary on Discovery a few years back called 'Billion Dollar Secret.'
It was an investigative report by Nick Cook, a British aviation journalist and correspondent for Jane's Defence Weekly looking into US black budget programmes.
Nick Cook, being a respected aviation journalist had great contacts.
The documentary featured interviews with Jack Gordon, CEO of the Lockheed 'Skunk-Works' and Boyd Bushman, who works with 'advanced concepts' for LockMart.
Bushman made an intriguing reference about research into applying charges to objects, causing them to lose weight. And he hinted, with a smile, that the next generation of aircraft being developed were shifting the normal perceptions of 'mother nature' or something. I thought it was fasinating.

[berkeleybeej]

From wtopnews.com:

Waldorf Puts the U in UFO

What was that bright light in Maryland's sky???

WTOP has learned that residents near Andrews Air Force base were shaken from their beds early Friday morning by some strange activity in the air.

"Incredible. Absolutely incredible" is what Renny Rogers of Waldorf calls it. Just before two in the morning, Rogers says he saw a large blue ball of light streaking across the sky. But it was the military jets that really startled him.

"(The jets) were right on its tail. As the thing would move, a jet was right behind it," Rogers recalls.

He is not the only one who saw it. Several people called WTOP Radio reporting seeing a bright blue or orange ball moving very fast, being chased by jets.

Rogers says there was no smoke coming from the object, no flashing lights, and says it was smooth, and eerily silent.

The Air National Guard confirms they scrambled the 113th squadron. Spokesman Sheldon Smith says they are investigating and in contact with NORAD.

[Momaw Nadon]

Waldorf Puts the U in UFO

What was that bright light in Maryland's sky???

WTOP has learned that residents near Andrews Air Force base were shaken from their beds early Friday morning by some strange activity in the air.

"Incredible. Absolutely incredible" is what Renny Rogers of Waldorf calls it. Just before two in the morning, Rogers says he saw a large blue ball of light streaking across the sky. But it was the military jets that really startled him.

"(The jets) were right on its tail. As the thing would move, a jet was right behind it," Rogers recalls.

He is not the only one who saw it. Several people called WTOP Radio reporting seeing a bright blue or orange ball moving very fast, being chased by jets.

Rogers says there was no smoke coming from the object, no flashing lights, and says it was smooth, and eerily silent.

The Air National Guard confirms they scrambled the 113th squadron. Spokesman Sheldon Smith says they are investigating and in contact with NORAD.

WTOP Radio, 2002

[PhilDragoo]

LockMart

There it is: a blue-light special.

[maquiladora]

Well it had to be something that didn't belong to us if we scrambled jets to investigate it.

Having said that, the glow could be coming from an engine. Perhaps it was Russian?

Pulse Detonation engine maybe?

[MichiganMan]

See, this picture demonstrate one of my (many many) problems with Unidentified Flying Objects being extraterrestrial craft. With our hundreds of satellites with optical capabilities, and the thousands of professional telescopes and observatories here on Earth we probably have every square inch of space for a thousand miles out under constant visual surveillance. Yet none of these folks with their high resolution cameras can ever seem to get an image of an alien craft as it approaches Earth's orbit. It's not like the flying saucers can sneak up on us from around a corner, we have a pretty wide open field of view.

The most obvious response is that the aliens have superior stealth technology that hides them from view. So why is it then that the stealth technology falls all to pieces when faced with some farmer's blurry Polaroid?

[Hellmouth]

Rogers says there was no smoke coming from the object, no flashing lights, and says it was smooth, and eerily silent.

Like I said, this is a strange one indeedy. Love to hear what the pilots in the planes, chasing the object, have to say, but somehow, I don't think they're going to be holding a press conference anytime soon. Bet there was an interesting debriefing.

[ASP]

[PhilDragoo]

Nick Cook author of 'The hunt for zero point'

· Nick Cook is an award-winning defence and aerospace journalist. For the past 15 years he has been Aviation Editor and Aerospace Consultant of the world-renowned Jane's Defence Weekly - the bible of the international defence industry. His ground-breaking, exclusive stories for Jane's have included reports on Russian secret weapons and a classified operation to rescue US hostages in Iran. Both made headlines all over the world.

· His stories have prompted questions in the House of Commons and have formed the basis of briefing documents for the Prime Minister's Office.

· He is a regular contributor to The Financial Times and articles by him have appeared in The Times, The Sunday Times, Daily Mail, The Sunday Telegraph and The Scotsman. He is quoted on aerospace and defence matters in news media around the world.

· Cook frequently comments on defence and security issues for BBC News, ITN, Sky News, CNN and the BBC World Service. He has appeared on The Today Programme, The World At One and Newsnight. His analysis was sought by UK, US and other world news media during the 1991 Gulf War and 1999 Kosovo conflict.

· He is a three-time winner of the prestigious Royal Aeronautical Society Aerospace Journalist of the Year Awards in the Defence, Business and Technology categories. In his 18 year career, Cook has visited the world's leading defence establishments and has gained access to numerous top secret military facilities and bases in the US and former Soviet Union.

· Cook's previous books have been published by Macmillan, Penguin and Little Brown in the UK and St Martin's Press in the USA. He has written 2 Sunday Times Top Ten Bestsellers. 'The Hunt for Zero Point', his sixth book, follows a ten-year investigation into an undocumented phenomenon.

· Cook's two hour documentary for the Discovery Channel, 'Billion Dollar Secret', written and presented by him, detailed for the first time the secret inner workings of America's classified weapons establishment.

· Cook, 41, lives in London with his wife and two children. He was educated at Eton and has a degree in Arabic and Islamic Studies from Exeter University.

[maquiladora]

Spokesman Sheldon Smith says they are investigating and in contact with NORAD.

Whatever happened, it's not been taken lightly.

[AdA$tra]

This one is really interesting folks. A LONG way from where our military flies their frisbies.