F18 Pilot Tracks UFO on Screen, Shouts "What the **** Is That Thing?!"
By virtue of a Freedom of Information Act request, the U.S. government recently released video footage obtained from the cockpit display of an F/A-18 Super Hornet fighter jet that appeared to briefly track an unexplained Unidentified Flying Object, according to the New York Post.
The Navy jet, flying at approximately 25,000 feet at an undisclosed location above the Atlantic Ocean off the East Coast of the United States, captured the UFO on screen that was streaking past them at a much lower altitude and incredible rate of speed.
The excitement of the pilot and his rear-seat Weapons Systems Officer at the sight was unmistakable as the pilot exclaimed, “What the f*** is that thing?!”
The video was first obtained and released to the public by a private research group known as To The Stars Academy of Arts & Science, and can be seen below:
The Academy provided their own analysis of the video, which included a description of the information seen in the cockpit display — such as altitude, airspeed and direction — as well as how it related to the tracked UFO.
The analysis also included a detailed breakdown of the capabilities of the F/A-18’s tracking system itself, the Raytheon-produced AN/ASQ-228 Advanced Targeting Forward Looking Infrared pod, also known as ATFLIR.
The UFO itself appeared on screen as a small, white oval-shaped object that was rapidly moving from the top right to lower left. It took three attempts by the WSO of manually shifting the aim of the ATFLIR to the left ahead of the unidentified craft for the unit to finally lock on and begin automatically tracking it.
The successful lock elicited cheers of excitement from both the pilot and WSO, who seemed in disbelief that they had actually managed to capture the swiftly moving object.
The Academy pointed out two crucial observations of the video, the first being no obvious sign of wings or a tail on the object, as well as no apparent exhaust plume either, which would typically be clearly visible in the infrared display.
Writing for The Washington Post, a former top defense intelligence official for both the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations named Christopher Mellon discussed the video as well as two others which had recently been released and appeared to show UFOs tracked by U.S. military aircraft.
Mellon, who disclosed that he serves as an advisor to the Academy, wondered of the UFOs, “Is it possible that America has been technologically leap-frogged by Russia or China? Or … might they be evidence of some alien civilization?”
He lamented that the Pentagon has issued no sort of official explanation or response to the videos, but noted that he had spoken with numerous pilots, WSOs and radar operators who had shared similar experiences as that in the video above, and expressed hope that the Defense Department would make a concerted effort at identifying these objects and their capabilities.
Mellon concluded, “The national security implications of these incidents are concerning — but the scientific opportunities are thrilling. Who knows what perils we may avoid or opportunities we might identify if we follow the data?”
He is absolutely correct, and whether or not these UFOs turn out to be advanced aircraft produced by our nation’s top rivals, it is incumbent upon our government to determine and disclose which and what that means for the country and national security.
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