SIGHTING: LAKE BUCHANAN, TEXAS (UNITED STATES)

Witness Testimony

"Driving NorthWest on FM 2341 I observed large con trail.(Wider and thicker than normal) Pulled off road to look at with 35mm binoculars. (30*46'42.70"N x 98*17'26.36"W ) Was expecting a large B-52 Multi-engine jet. Saw a long silver object flying in front of four to five smaller jets. Larger object was at least twice the size of the smaller jets. Larger object appeared to be maneuvering, causing flashes of sunlight off its surface. Relatively straight flight pattern but appeared to be toying with chase planes. Large Silver shiny object did not appear to have wings! (expected tanker to have large wings) Altitude was too great for good clear identification. Smaller jets appeared to be F-16s on afterburners. (Single burners) Strangely, The chase planes were flying in a really tight formation for a chase? They were hard to identify as they were apparently in close formation with a lot of acrobatic maneuvering going on during this time. Con trails on two of the smaller jets actually formed a corkscrew con trail. First impression was that they were jockeying for better view of the larger silvery object. They did not appear to be able to catch up with the larger object. The larger object appeared to be lunging forward at times as if it slowed down to let the chase planes catch up. All observation was through a 35mm lens and was extremely fuzzy due to extreme altitude. All objects were headed south to the Gulf of Mexico. Only Military bases in that direction would be the electronic test range near Big Bend,Texas. Also Navy bases at Corpus Christi, and Kingsville. I do not think it was a refueling operation as smaller jets appeared to be on afterburners! Activity was too close for refueling. I do not know WHAT I saw! Was upset that I did not have better optics! Lost the flight as it crossed the Sun to my South-Southwest. Objects passed nearly directly overhead. About five to ten minutes later I saw another con trail headed in the same direction. However, it turned out to be a Southwest Airlines Jet (737) that was only about two thirds the altitude and less than half the speed. This report is not sufficient to stand alone, however, it might help if others reported this. Strange times we live in!"