The Summertime Badger Mountain UFO Mystery of 2023
UFO Reported Above Badger Moutain “I've never seen anything like this before”
You'll know my passion for space and aviation if you know me.
Living in the Wenatchee Valley is great because we often see military aircraft.
The vastly different terrain of North Central Washington is a favorite stomping ground for the many military squadrons based in Washington. We're used to the sights and piercing sounds of Growlers pacing above Sage Hills, Crescent Bar, and The Palisades. Navy fliers also favor high-speed runs, skimming above Lake Wenatchee, just above Tall Timbers campground - then up and over the North Cascades. - A route used in the filming of Top Gun Maverick in the late 2010s.
I’ve seen the now retired, four-prop engine P-3 Orion make a low-level pass through the Wenatchee Valley, all four engines spewing black exhaust out the back without apologies.
US Army single-rotor, Cobras, and Blackhawks frequent our area. The giant twin-rotor US Army Chinook personnel carriers making low-level runs up and over Rooster Comb - would scare my then-3-year-old.
I’ve witnessed white, orange, and black-colored Jayhawks (the Coast Guard version of the Blackhawk helicopter) make landings in school ballfields in Wenatchee.
I have also seen a US Army KC-130J (a 4-engined turboprop plane) refueling three US Army Blackhawk helicopters over Cashmere.
With all of the military aircraft training in the skies above Washington, it makes sense that Washington leads the nation in reported UFO sightings. -Axios Seattle
The following is an account of two eyewitnesses describing what they saw on a warm summer night in late August. The link for this report can be found below the story.
Three green-colored lights form a triangle, moving east and followed by military aircraft.
“On August 30th, 2023 at approx. 10:00 pm I noticed aircraft west of my house flying back and forth from north to south.
I was curious why they were doing that and told my wife about it.
We went outside on our deck to take a look. The aircraft began to head east and passed by our house. They flew only a few hundred feet above the ground and followed each other. There were three aircraft in all.
I saw what I could only describe as a "UFO." I've never seen anything like this before.
The lead aircraft was triangular. It had three green lights—one on top and two below- forming a triangle. I could not see the body of this aircraft. It was being followed by what appeared to be military jets. It was a full moon, and I could see the entire aircraft in the moonlight. The plane that was directly behind the "UFO" was flying dark. (no lights) I could see the silhouette of the darkened-out jet in the moonlight. It was closely following the UFO aircraft. A second jet flew with red flashing lights behind the darkened-out jet. Only the jets appeared to be making noise. They flew east over the horizon at slow speeds. The UFO seemed about half the size of the darkened-out plane following it.
I've never seen a green triangle object flying before.
A few minutes later, we heard more jets approaching from the northwest. Two more military jets, with lights on, flew over our house and headed in the same direction as the other aircraft. One of the jets was shooting what appeared to be a spotlight at the forest trees. We live in the mountains. (Badger Mountain) We do not see Military aircraft exercises in our area.
People began to comment on the Badger Mountain Community Facebook page as soon as the aircraft left. Other people also mentioned that they saw the green light unidentified flying object.” - Badger Mountain resident posting on the National UFO Reporting Center website.
NOTE: The two individuals reported that the episode described above lasted about 5 minutes.
Here's what I believe the residents of Badger Mountain saw
A Badger Mountain Family Group member named "Lyberty" posted a dark, grainy video from that night. Listening to it -It sounds like the US Army turboprop plane (KC-130J) used to refuel military aircraft - I also heard what sounded like a couple (or a few?) jets at low speed - here is a video of a KC-130J at work
"There were 3 in a spread-out in a line."
One of the observations from that night was three mystery aircraft flying in a line, side-by-side.
"It had three green lights. One light on top and two below to form a triangle."
The three green lights are telling. Click the video below and scroll to the 1:20 mark. You'll see aircraft using the described lights during nighttime mid-air refueling.
Washington is home to many US Navy, Air Force, and Army air squadrons. These high-tech aircraft conduct routine training missions, sometimes at night.
Without a doubt, some of these missions result in UFO sightings. If you see something you think might be a UFO - Report it to the National UFO Reporting Center.
INFO SOURCE: National UFO Reporting Center, AIRBOYD (YouTube Channel) and Lockheed Martin (YouTube Channel), Axios Seattle