Sep 11, 2023
Written By [Christopher Sharp](https://www.liberationtimes.com/?author=610434e320e3e945538177b1)
Written by [Christopher Sharp](https://twitter.com/ChrisUKSharp) \- 11 September 2023
It was February 2023.
The month began with a Chinese surveillance balloon that both startled and puzzled politicians and civilians alike.
It was symbolic – the Chinese had broken into America’s own backyard.
Cue, the political and media pressure – it was swiftly shot down when clear from built-up areas.
Then in quick succession, three smaller unknown objects were taken down, thought to be a potential threat to air traffic.
All were shot down at the command of the North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD).
The events were a huge wake up call – not only were the Chinese operating in America’s back yard, but so were unknowns.
Their origin? Unknown. Their operators? Unknown.
When it comes to 21st-century warfare, America, as the world’s dominant superpower, can deal with most potential global threats. From under the ocean to within Earth’s atmosphere, there is nowhere it cannot project its immense power.
That is with the exception of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena (UAP) – objects which appear to act with impunity without any consequence over military ranges. Like a soccer goal left wide open with the goalkeeper nowhere to be seen, these occurrences are like loud open invitations to unknowns and enemies to score a goal against the most sophisticated and heavily-funded defense apparatus on the planet.
The Eglin Event
Another event occurred earlier this year, one not as extensively covered by the press.
It was symptomatic of the gaping vulnerability that had been swept under the rug for decades.
The under-reported UAP event involved a United States Air Force pilot from Florida’s Eglin Air Force Base, whose life was turned upside down whilst flying over the Gulf of Mexico one day.
Florida representative Matt Gaetz, who spoke about the incident at July’s Congressional UAP Hearing and who had spoken to the pilot and saw the unknown object captured from his camera explained:
“One of the pilots goes to check out that diamond formation \[viewed on radar\] and sees a large floating, what I can only describe as an orb, again, like I said, not have any human capability that I’m aware of.”
He added:
“And when he approached, he said that his radar went down. He said that his FLIR (infrared camera) system malfunctioned and that he had to manually take this image from one of the lenses.”
Sources have informed Liberation Times that the object seen over the Gulf of Mexico appeared to be docked with an object below the water, drawing a parallel with the 2004 “tic-tac” incident where a similar interaction was seen.
Unlike the Chinese surveillance balloon and at least two of the three unknown objects shot down by NORAD, the object committed something which could be interpreted as a hostile act, apparently jamming his aircraft’s sensor systems.
One could argue that this object posed a much greater threat than the objects shot down by NORAD.
But instead of bringing in reinforcements and shooting down the object, there appeared to have been no response, except for an attempted cover-up of the incident through stigma.
The situation faced on U.S. military test ranges is alarming and plays a big role in explaining why Congress created the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO).
But perhaps the larger issue to tackle in terms of UAP is the inconsistent and uncoordinated response to incursions.
A NORAD spokesperson told Liberation Time that it retains “no information about any radar tracks near Eglin Air Force Base, Florida, currently or earlier this year.
“As aircraft that operate out of Eglin do so under U.S. Air Force control, I refer you to them for more information if available.”
The spokesperson added:
“Specifically within U.S. military training range airspace, the military service operating the training range works closely with the Federal Aviation Authority (FAA) to ensure awareness and safety for the range.”
Both the FAA and Eglin Air Force Base have declined to comment on the apparent incident.
The NORAD spokesperson also commented:
“NORAD is not solely responsible for the airspace within the U.S. and works closely with the FAA and other airspace authorities, such as the military services who control their own training range airspace”
NORAD tends to remove itself (to an extent) from the affairs of military test ranges. Coordination and consistency of response are crucial, and military test ranges do not seem to have a handle on UAP operating over their airspace.
The Pentagon has recognised the issue since 2021, following the UAP Task Force report, with spokesperson John Kirby [commenting](https://www.defense.gov/News/Releases/Release/article/2672732/statement-by-pentagon-press-secretary-john-kirby-on-unidentified-aerial-phenome/) at the time:
“Incursions into our training ranges and designated airspace pose safety of flight and operations security concerns, and may pose national security challenges. DOD takes reports of incursions – by any aerial object, identified or unidentified – very seriously, and investigates each one.”
Investigate – yes. But to shoot down such craft? There was no reference to this.
But why? It has widely been heralded that the shooting down of the Chinese spy balloon marked a major intelligence coup for the U.S.
Whether they originate from China or not, their very presence poses a direct threat to U.S. interests – especially should both powers clash over Taiwan.
A Situation Where China, Russia And Truly Unexplainable Craft Can Thrive In America’s Backyard
One could argue that the USAF, Navy and Army are well aware that some UAPs simply outmatch their capabilities. For example, in 2019, the Navy was unable to bring down a single unknown object which harassed multiple warships.
And naval aviators who have encountered unexplainable UAPs (probably not attributable to China) admit that they would be unable to defend themselves should they prove openly hostile.
So in many instances, not wanting to escalate a situation, the military stands idle and does nothing. With escalation comes the threat of losses and the growing realisation that the world’s greatest superpower has no supremacy over its skies.
And by doing nothing, partially through institutionalised stigma, the military provides opportunities for Chinese and Russian surveillance to take place.
The two go hand in hand – truly unexplainable UAP and adversarial surveillance activities.
By taking no action, both the explainable and unexplainable UAP can thrive in America’s backyard over its most prized assets.
Whether it is disguising intelligence platforms as civilian objects such as balloons, or sending objects that mimic the stranger UAPs seen – there is exploitation potential for enemies.
A Lack Of Coordination
At present, there is a mishmash of organisations responsible for keeping the skies safe.
There is no real coordination, leadership or accountability when it comes to dealing with UAP on a broader level.
Let’s spell out the problem further by going back to the Eglin UAP encounter.
Even if NORAD was made aware of the situation, it c
*[Read full article at Liberation Times]*