NUFORC Sighting 159286

Occurred: 2019-07-24 17:30 Local
Reported: 2020-09-10 02:07 Pacific
Duration: 6-7 minutes
No of observers: 3

Location: Grafenwoehr (Germany), , Germany

Shape: Triangle
Characteristics: Lights on object, Aura or haze around object, Aircraft nearby

Tirangular craft over US military base in Europe.

On July 24th, 2019 at approximately 1730 myself, a representative from the German Forestry Service, and a local hunter were standing at the parking area of a lake belonging to the Grafenwoher Bundesforst, at which I raise fish for sale and consumption. At the time, Combined Resolve, an annual training event, was being conducted by US Forces and there were several UH 60 Blackhawk helicopters maneuvering in the area. To the north was a tree line, the lake was to the south, and the sun was still high in the sky to the southwest. The parking area which we were standing on was between the tree line to the north and the lake to the south. It was very hot, with almost no clouds in the sky. The representative from the forestry service pointed towards the sky to the north, directly above the tree line, and said "What in the world is that?" Myself and the other individual looked to the spot where he was pointing and saw only a commercial airliner. The airlin! er looked to be at cruising altitude so I assumed it had come from Nurnberg International airport to the west. We both asked him what it was he was referring to as we could only see the airliner. He said "There was a bright light there, behind the plane." Moments later the light appeared and myself and the other individual both acknowledged it. It looked as if an extremely bright planet or star had just appeared but, being that the sun was still high in the sky I knew that this could not be the case. The light was a bright white, almost like a xenon lightbulb, but the intensity was incredible and it did not radiate. It truly reminded me of what Venus looks like as opposed to a star in the night sky. It was a very bright day with the sun still high in the sky to the southwest but the light was nonetheless extremely bright. It then faded to the point of no longer being visible, then reappeared and disappeared in irregular intervals. The light was directly above a tr! ee, above and behind the airliner. As the airliner passed by t! he light remained stationary. We watched the light appear, disappear, then reappear for approximately two minutes and, using the tree below it as a guide, I could tell that it remained mostly stationary in the sky. It is important to note that when the light was off we could see nothing in the sky where the light had been.

After observing the light for approximately two minutes, the representative from the forestry service went to his vehicle and retrieved a pair of binoculars. These were the kind used by hunters and were of very good quality and very high power. The other two witnesses passed the binoculars between each other, saying that they could now see an object where the light had been. One of them said he couldn’t tell what it was while the other stated that it looked like “a balloon.” When the binoculars were passed to me I looked through them and could clearly see a triangular object with a dark, almost black rim around the outer edge and three black circles at each end of the triangle. Although I never saw the lights come on while looking at the object through the binoculars I assume that these three black circles had been its source.

I lowered the binoculars and looked without them at the object. The light came on and it once again reminded me of a planet or the ISS reflecting the sun's light as you might see it at night; albeit much brighter. After a few seconds the light turned off and I put the binoculars back up to my eyes and could once again clearly see a triangle shaped object with three black circles at each end and a dark outer edge. The shape of the object reminded me of a billiard rack, standing upright on one of the flat edges. The tips of the triangle were rounded. We observed the object for about five or six minutes, and during this time it moved only slightly to the east. We continued to pass the binoculars around, each of us looking at it and commenting on what we saw. I also observed what seemed to be something either coming out of or protruding from the object, extending downward and vertically from the bottom. The "protrusion" was about three times the length (top to bottom) ! of the object. At a couple of times during the observation I saw the object turn slightly to the west and could see at this point that the object had depth. When the object made this slight westerly turn the sun, which was still high in sky to the southwest, reflected brightly off of its surface.

I happened to be holding the binoculars when the lights turned off one final time. This time, however, the object disappeared as the lights turned off. I could no longer see it although I had been looking directly at it. I lowered the binoculars and said to the other two "I think it's gone." I raised the binoculars again, found the spot above the tree where the object had just been, and saw it as it rapidly accelerated to the east and out of the field of view of the binoculars, still oriented in the manner it had been the entire time; like a billiard rack standing on one of its flat surfaces. I attempted to find the object in the binoculars again but was unsuccessful. We did not see the object again.

In hindsight, there are two things that now seem notable about the physical appearance of the object: The first being that without the assistance of the binoculars the object was not visible. This makes me think that the object must have been very high in the sky or very far away. The commercial airliner that had passed by a couple of minutes earlier was clearly visible to the naked eye. This object was not. The second thing of note was that when looking at the object through the binoculars it seemed as if the entire object was covered in a haze, much like when heat radiates from hot surface on a hot summer day.

I am a contractor working for the US Army and have worked as a member of and with the US military in various capacities for 21 years. I hold a current TS/SCI clearance. I know what military aircraft look like. This object was not a drone, it was not a plane, it was not a helicopter, it was not any conventional military or civilian vehicle that I know of. Because this sighting occured over a US military installation near live fire ranges I did file a report with the range control firing operations Officer in Charge.



Posted 2020-11-05

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