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martiandrifter01
B.V. Info Seeker
Joined: Mar 28, 2008
Posts: 659
Location: Xanthe Terra, Sol IV/Mars
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 Posted: Sun Sep 21, 2008 1:23 pm Post subject: UFO Sighting, Part 1 |
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It was late, maybe 11 or so, on a cool New Mexico night in 1981. I was doing end of runway duty, what we called De-Arm, and it had been kind of busy, with our fighters making good on our allotted sorties. A call came over the Motorola from MACC for Radio Silence, something was up! We waited--me (weapon load crew chief), two other weapon troops, and an aircraft (APG) crew chief. Silence for a few minutes, except for the high-pitched whistle-whine from Pratt & Whitney turbofans warming up on the flight line. The night was fairly clear, with no moon, so it was also quite dark. Great for stargazing.
The radio crackled. MACC announced that maintenance was to continue the silence, there was a chase going on! We didn’t get the rest of the story until after we were relieved by the next shift, but it was exciting being there! MACC gave us play-by-play over the two-way; we got to see it happen right over our heads. Two of our jets had been heading out to the local bomb range and were diverted to take over the chase from the Eagles out of Alamogordo. The crew chief looked at us, and we at him, and we all stepped out of the EOR shack to watch the skies. Motorola in hand, of course.
JC told us to stay sharp, the chase was heading our way! I’m sure everyone on the tarmac was craning their heads to see; I know WE were! Suddenly, out of the west, something black and very fast blasted over our heads. I was disappointed to note the red, green and white lights in the appropriate locations as it passed over, but a chase is still a chase, and little marker lights didn’t mean it was one of ours, it just means it had marker lights. Gone almost as fast as it appeared, the black craft seemed to wobble a little as it vanished from sight. Then, ROAR!, as one of our birds tore through the sky overhead, afterburners blazing a trail behind it, and another ROAR!, as the second interceptor followed suit.
The military tells good tales. I don’t believe the “UFO” was an extra-terrestrial vehicle that time, but the rest of the story was still good. Our bosses told us that a UFO had been spotted off the California coast, and the first guys that could intercept it were launched from Edwards Air Force Base as it approached their sector. The “jet jocks” from Edwards chased it towards Phoenix, calling ahead for the boys at Luke to take up the pursuit. Luke’s Eagle drivers followed without catching it (Edwards’ guys didn’t ID it either), and radioed to the next base in the track which the UFO was taking as they streaked towards Albuquerque. The fliers from Holloman AFB called ahead to us to see if we had anything airborne, since we didn’t have any ‘hot pads’ at the time. Once again, the chase was handed off, this time near Fort Sumner, NM, and our pilots did their damnedest to catch the unknown flyer as it headed over Clovis. I’m sure there was more to the story, but that was the end of our involvement as we gave the pursuit over to whoever in Texas. The amazing part of this story isn’t how long the unknown craft could remain supersonic, but how it could do so without visible afterburners. Everything in inventory at the time HAD to use afterburners to fly supersonic.
You folks are the first to get this one from me publicly. Parts Two and Three are coming. No, I don't have corroborating witnesses or photographs; any camera would have been confiscated by the Security Police. |
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Just for fun, and maybe a chance to learn a little solar system astronomy...
martiandrifter.com |
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