ESPINASSE (63) 12.10.2023

On 12 October 2023 at about 23:30, while stargazing from his terrace in Espinasse (63), a witness saw a UAP to the southeast. He described at least two intense white lights flashing out of synchronization and moving quickly in a straight line from south to north. He said it crossed the sky in 15–20 seconds, initially at 30° elevation and finally at 45–60°, when he lost sight of it to the northeast. He briefly went indoors to get his phone and film it, taking about 4–5 seconds. At the end of the observation he also heard, for a few seconds, a sound resembling the familiar distant rumble of a large airliner, but did not know whether it was related to the UAP. The case has moderate evidential strength*: a single witness who attempted filming, with video of limited use. However, the questionnaire contains fairly complete information. *Under GEIPAN's criteria, evidential strength is the amount of information collected for an account that is considered reliable and objectively substantiated. He initially thought it was an airplane, but the flashing intrigued him: 'Airliners flash red and white and do not move that quickly at altitude.' The difference from his knowledge of aircraft made it seem unusual. He lives beneath a military air corridor and is used to fighters passing low directly over his house: 'I know their sound well, and they pass very fast, much faster than what I observed.' The investigation explored a formation of four Rafale military aircraft whose presence was confirmed by CNOA, the National Air Operations Center, and green radar tracks on its reconstruction map. They traveled southwest to northeast (see CNOA Map). Other matching elements were: - Regular white flashing, consistent with anti-collision lights. - A sound resembling aircraft heard by the witness. - The four Rafales' presence at the relevant time and in the reported southeast-to-northeast viewing directions, passing at a closest reported distance of about 5.5 km. - A very short observation window: about 30 seconds for the aircraft to pass from southwest to northeast relative to the witness, at approximately 970 km/h as measured on the CNOA map. The source also states that their northeastward movement away from the witness matches the UAP's elevation changing from 30° to 45–60°. These aircraft can fly with few lights on, for example for concealment during an exercise. The source uses this to explain the absence of flashing red anti-collision lights, which are on when the aircraft are on or near the ground. Their conventional green, red and white position lights might also have been switched off or obscured by the bright anti-collision lights and the viewing distance. The aircraft were at approximately 33, 000 feet, or 10 km altitude. This high altitude also explains their quieter sound and lower apparent speed compared with the witness's earlier fighter sightings. The source gives both the 5.5 km closest distance and the approximately 10 km altitude without clarifying how those distances are defined. Classified A: observation of four fighter aircraft.