Crew Member Tracks Windborne Object

A U.S. military crew member spotted an object in the air over the Arabian Gulf. It looked like a balloon, and the crew member tracked it with a sensor aboard the aircraft.

The object drifted with the wind at an altitude of about nine kilometers. The sensor kept it in view, but offered no answer to what was up there. The military report, too, focuses mainly on the object's appearance and movement.

Balloon-Like, but Unidentified

The crew member described the object as something that looked like a balloon. That was how it appeared during the sighting; it does not mean the report identified it as a balloon. The record also says the object moved with the wind at high altitude.

The report was filed on a military form used to document events during operations. This section provides a brief account of the sighting. It gives no further details about the object, so the account rests on three points: it looked like a balloon, moved with the wind, and was tracked by the crew member.

The Sensor Kept It in View

The crew member used an infrared sensor, a device that detects heat and produces an image. Mounted on the aircraft, it allowed the crew member to track the object. The report also describes a visual sighting alongside the sensor tracking.

The record puts the object's altitude at about 31,000 feet, or roughly nine kilometers. It drifted with the wind at that height. That's the clearest detail about its movement: the report does not describe a turn, acceleration, or change in course, only movement with the wind.

What Remains Unknown

The record does not identify the object, and it provides too little information to determine whether it was a balloon or something else. The description reflects the crew member's impression at the time, not a conclusion about what the object was.

A small object that looked like a balloon drifted with the wind high above the gulf. The sensor tracked it, but what it was remains unknown.