PLOUMILLIAU (22) 23.09.2015

A witness heard aircraft engines and saw several luminous balls moving rapidly in different directions, with 2 aircraft nearby. He linked this sighting to a similar one the previous week, on 14 September 2015. His 2 very similar accounts concerned 14 and 23 September, from the same place at about 22:30. On both occasions, he clearly described aircraft, their sounds and trails in what GEIPAN interpreted as military air operations. The witness said this recalled very recent early-September Rafale flights low along the coast near the Roscoff–Saint-Pol-de-Léon boundary, which he thought might have been exercises: aircraft had passed overhead at low altitude for hours. He was almost certain that the 14 September aircraft were military. On 14 September, 2 very loud, distinct sounds, resembling a missile or a huge firework without a detonation, drew him to the window. A spherical luminous UAP looked different from the aircraft and at one point emitted a curtain of light towards the ground. On 23 September, he saw 4 or 5 balls much brighter than the few faint stars, moving rapidly in different directions like a dance and alternately appearing and disappearing. He saw 2 aircraft identified by their white trails, possibly more judging by the noise. After approximately 1–2 minutes, the luminous balls quickly vanished while the aircraft remained visible and audible. The UAP directions, southwest on 14 September and southeast on 23 September, including the witness's map, matched a military low-flying area shown on the 2015 RTBA map. GEIPAN concluded that both events involved aerial exercises. In that context, it did not consider the reported features inherently strange: exercises can include luminous infrared decoy flares, unfamiliar to someone unable to connect them with military manoeuvres. The source cites an article on illuminating munitions and military flares as causes of UFO reports. No other witnesses reported unusual features to GEIPAN, although the events attracted attention at least through their noise. GEIPAN classified both the 14 and 23 September cases B: aircraft.