Documented case · Eglin Air Force Base training range, Florida
Eglin training-range report
26 January 2023 · Details below are limited to the linked public record. Source conclusions are attributed and do not establish an extraordinary cause.
- Incident date
- 26 January 2023
- Place in source
- Eglin Air Force Base training range, Florida
- Location precision
- AARO places the report near Eglin Air Force Base. The marker shows the named training-range area rather than an exact object position.
Documented record
A military pilot reported four possible objects on radar at about 16,000–18,000 feet. The pilot visually observed one object and captured two electro-optical/infrared images; the aircraft’s video recorder was not working.
Source assessment
AARO found no confirmed anomalous behavior and assessed with moderate confidence that the object was very likely a lighter-than-air object, such as a large commercial lighting balloon.
Details stated in the record
- Sensors
- Radar, visual observation, electro-optical and infrared images
- Reported altitude
- Four radar contacts at about 16,000–18,000 feet; one object visually observed at about 16,000 feet
- Reported size
- About 12 feet in diameter, as later reported to AARO by the pilot
- Reported motion
- Very slow or possibly stationary, according to the pilot’s later discussion with AARO
- Reported appearance
- The pilot described a gray, paneled object with an orange-red center and a rounded, cone-shaped upper half.
- Video
- Not recorded; the aircraft’s video equipment was inoperable
- AARO confidence
- Moderate confidence: very likely a lighter-than-air object, such as a large commercial lighting balloon.
Not available in the cited public record
- The public report does not publish an exact object coordinate.
- AARO did not identify the object conclusively.
Source references
- Eglin UAP case resolution (opens in a new tab)
AARO · U.S. Department of Defense