Images purportedly showing two military jets chasing a “saucer-shaped” UFO over Nova Zagora in Bulgaria’s south eastern region have gone viral in online UFO and alien conspiracy theory forums.
The images appear to have first surfaced on the UFO website Portal12 . They were reportedly provided by a Portal12 reader who claimed they were taken on January 14, 2016, at a place near Nova Zagora, southeastern Bulgaria.
According to the source, two military jets were sighted for about five minutes trailing a “saucer-shaped” UFO that flew above them in the sky over rural farmlands near Nova Zagora.
“Military planes chased a UFO near Nova Zagora yesterday afternoon. The aircraft were flying at very low altitude in the area above the villages of Gaz, Zagortci, and Han Asparuhovo,” Portal12 reported.
Although Portal12 claims that several people witnessed the incident, it has not been confirmed that any witness came forward to corroborate online reports about the incident.
But the website stated that as the military jets chased the UFO, it changed direction suddenly, forcing the jets to execute acrobatic mid-air maneuvers as they struggled to keep up.
The mysterious images have sparked a debate in online UFO and alien conspiracy theory forums, with enthusiasts speculating about what the Bulgarian military jets were chasing in the sky.
Some enthusiasts claimed the images were evidence of alien UFO activity on Earth and that governments are aware of the fact but are maintaining a conspiratorial silence to prevent mass panic.
“I wonder how much time it will take the governments around the world… to tell [their citizens] about the truth…”
UFO Sightings Daily editor Scott Waring comments that it does not appear the military jets were trying to stop the UFO or that the pilots were contemplating shooting it down. He suggests that no earthly military craft would risk shooting at an alien craft.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5Uv-HM0w2LM
“A UFO was seen over farm land near some very tall power lines and it was being monitored by a military aircraft,” Waring writes. “The UFO seems to not be in any kind of hurry to move and the jet seems like it’s only there to identify the craft to those back at base. I don’t think any military will risk deliberately shooting at an alien craft.”
But some skeptics argued that the images were fake and that the alleged saucer-shaped UFOs were added to the images digitally after the original images of military jets flying in the sky were taken. Others claimed that the UFOs were military drones being monitored by the military jets, possibly while undergoing flight testing.
Some pointed out that one of the alleged fighter jets appears to be a USAF A10 Thunderbolt II ( “Warthog” ) which the Bulgarian air force does not have.
“It’s fascinating to play around the edges of this never-ending UFO mystery, to make pictures, to daydream and speculate ad infinitum about the unknown.”
“If they were going to fake a video and claim military aircraft were chasing a UFO in Bulgaria they should have picked a less obvious plane than the A10 Warthog, which Bulgaria does not own or fly.”
“It’s an A10 Warthog, an American ground attack aircraft. It’s a beast of a plane specifically designed to be a tank killer. And no, Bulgaria does not have any.”
Pursuing the suggestion that the alleged UFOs were probably drones, the Daily Mail quotes UFO expert Lee Speigel commenting that many cases of UFO sightings actually involve drones. Some of such sightings are due to error of identification by the observer, but sometimes hoaxers deliberately fly drones disguised as weird- or exotic-looing crafts to create a sensation.
“The thing about drones is… that you can make them look like UFOs,” Speigel reportedly said. “You can go to the local hardware store, and for not a lot of money, you can pick up the materials you need… to make people go crazy.”
[Photo By Bill Meier/AP]