HURIEL (03) 10.12.2025

On 10 December 2025 at about 03:05, a witness at home in Huriel, Allier, watched a luminous phenomenon for about 20 seconds. The rural setting had no light pollution; the sky was completely overcast with intermittent rain. Having previously noticed several low military-aircraft passes, he now saw an intense white light and a red light moving slowly and silently with a flickering appearance. He perceived it as close, about the apparent size of a small vehicle or supermarket trolley. The file has moderate evidential substance*: one account, without imagery. The investigation quickly established coincidence with the national military exercise “Poker,” involving French Air and Space Force Rafales, Mirage 2000s and A330 MRTT tankers. Flight tracking and CAPCODA information confirm military aircraft in the area at the exact time (see investigation report). GEIPAN finds the description fully consistent with a distant military aircraft’s night lighting. An invisible fuselage leaves isolated white landing lights and red anti-collision lights. It attributes irregular flicker and a fluctuating halo, perceived as flame or air distortion, to optical turbulence and refraction in the damp, cloudy atmosphere. Intense lights in complete darkness can distort estimates of proximity, size and speed. The low estimated elevation of about 5° also aligned the object with terrestrial references such as trees, reinforcing an illusion of relative position. The source says technical, aeronautical and weather evidence converge on firm identification, while assigning B: probable military aircraft, very probably an A330 MRTT tanker taking part in the ongoing exercise. Its repeated final conclusion is B: probable military aircraft. *GEIPAN defines evidential substance as the quantity of information collected for an account that is considered reliable and objectively substantiated.