Fighter jets scrambled as UFO hunt forces airport to close for hours

Two fighter jets were scrambled to investigate the UFO (Image: @BabakTaghvaee1/x)

The Indian Air Force (IAF) scrambled two of its Rafale fighter jets after an Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) was spotted near an airport.

Security forces raised the alarm on November 20 after the UFO sighting was reported from the Manipur state, located in north-east India, at approximately 2.30pm local time. 

The UFO also prompted the IAF to stop all operations for several hours at the Bir Tikendrajit International Airport, located in the state capital city, Imphal.

An unverified clip filmed near the airport and shared on social media shows a bright white dot in the sky.

As noted by an official, the UFO was «visible with bare eyes». 

#BREAKING: Today, air-defence readiness of #India was examined by a foreign country that had a luminious object (UFO) hovering over Imphal Airport near Myanmar. To intercept the UFO, two Rafale EHs of the #IndianAirForce‘s 101sq from Hashimara AFS, Jalpaguiri were scrambled. pic.twitter.com/fqkkneQtIs

— Babak Taghvaee – The Crisis Watch (@BabakTaghvaee1) November 20, 2023

A post on X, formerly Twitter, by the IAF read: «IAF activated its Air Defence response mechanism based on visual inputs from Imphal airport. The small object was not seen thereafter.»

Also commenting on the decision to scramble the jets, a defence official told news agency ANI: «Soon after information about the UFO near the Imphal airport was received, a Rafale fighter aircraft from a nearby airbase was scrambled to go and search for the UFO.»

After the first jet returned, a second was sent out to investigate the UFO.

The Rafale fighter jets could not locate the UFO (Image: GETTY)

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Moreover, an official from India’s Central Industrial Security Force told PTI: «The UFO was visible with bare eyes moving westwards of the airfield (at the Imphal airport) till 4 pm.»

The mission undertaken by the Rafale jets saw the warplanes equipped with advanced sensors carrying out low-level flying over the area near the airport.

The jets operation was called off only after the search, albeit unproductive, lasted for several hours, it has been reported. 

As a consequence of the airport shutdown, two flights were diverted and three departures were delayed.

Operations were allowed to resume at approximately 5.30pm local time, after airport authorities were given the green-light from the IAF.

This UFO sighting comes more than two months after residents in Paradise, California, spotted another unidentified flying object racing through the clouds.

The UFO appeared and disappeared multiple times and left a trail of light behind it, according to reports.