Area 51 is one of the most intriguing places in the America, with numerous strange sightings being reported in the area. Located in the Nevada desert, it is a detachment of Edwards Air Force Base and has been the subject of numerous conspiracy theories. And on November 8, 2016, Presidential Election Day, a dogfight between two jets, an American F-16, and a Russian Sukhoi 27 Flanker was witnessed in Area 51. The following is the revelation from Phil Drake, a military technology enthusiast who observed the strange occurrence in Area 51.
“The date was November 8th, US election day, and the sighting was between 1500 and 1525. I was visiting Nevada hoping to catch a glimpse of some of the latest defense programmes being tested. On the Monday and Wednesday, Nellis Aggressor F-15s and F-16s were regularly overhead, dropping flares and sonic booms. It was Tuesday afternoon when the skies went quiet for a couple of hours, and I hoped this may be a sign of something unusual being flown.
“Eventually the sound of jet noise caught my attention, and I scanned the clear blue skies ’til I saw the tiny speck of an approaching military jet at high altitude, leaving an intermittent contrail. It was instantly recognisable as a Russian built Sukhoi 27 Flanker, and carried no national insignia or identifying marks.
“I took my camera out and photographed the ensuing dogfight between the Flanker and a F-16. The sortie seemed to consist of a head on intercept, conducted at descending altitudes from 30 down to 20 thousand feet, and after each intercept a turning dogfight ensued after they had flashed past each other. The highly manoeuvrable Flanker was a single seat version, a Su-27P, and it pulled out all of its best moves to get behind the F-16.”
According to Phil’s report, the dogfight lasted about 25 minutes, and the planes headed back to Groom Lake’s restricted airspace. Photographs of the Russian and American jet dogfight can be observed here , here and here . It has been suggested the Sukhoi may have been used by the United States military to test the F-16’s capabilities against the Russian jet in air-to-air combat situations. This is reported by the Aviationist .
That said, there has been an ongoing arms race between the American and Russian governments ever since the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, which led to numerous sanctions by the United States government, and the European Union. Moreover, encounters between the Russian and NATO forces have been on the rise in recent years, heightening tensions. Just last year, Russian jets reportedly buzzed an American Navy warship.
The jets flew close to 30 feet above the USS Donald Cook. Secretary of State John Kerry warned that the encounter would have led to the planes being shot down, stating, “Under the rules of engagement, that could have been a shoot-down, so people need to understand that this is serious business.” This was while speaking to CNN .
Presently, Russia is alleged to have been involved in a more covert operation involving the hacking of the Democratic National Committee emails with the intention of helping President-elect Donald Trump win the 2016 Presidential Election. According to a report released on Thursday by the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Russia was the main actor behind the hacking. The following is an excerpt of the report.
“Russia’s goals were to undermine public faith in the US democratic process, denigrate Secretary Clinton, and harm her electability and potential presidency. We further assess Putin and the Russian Government developed a clear preference for President-elect Trump. We have high confidence in these judgments.”
Some skeptics have, however, pointed out that the report offers no convincing, detailed evidence of Russia’s involvement in the American 2016 Presidential Election. This is as reported by NBC .
[Featured Image by Host photo agency/RIA Novosti/Getty Images]