EARTH, Laniakea Supercluster—A recent incident involving a U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jet and an unidentified aerial object over Arizona has sparked renewed discussion about the presence of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) near sensitive military sites. The event, which took place on January 19 2023, damaged the aircraft and appears to be connected to a string of similar encounters in the region.

According to Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) documents obtained by
The War Zone, the F-16 was on a training mission over the Barry M. Goldwater Range near Gila Bend when it collided with an "orange-white" uncrewed aerial system (UAS), often called a drone. The impact damaged the jet's canopy, grounding it for repairs.

The next day, three more UAS encounters were reported in the same airspace, according to FAA documents obtained by The War Zone. On January 20 sightings were documented near the Barry M. Goldwater Range in Arizona and suggest a short-term pattern of anomalous aerial activity in restricted military training zones. These incidents were formally logged by the FAA and have been referenced in broader UAP investigations. These incidents are part of a larger trend of UAP sightings reported by military pilots over Arizona's restricted airspace since 2020.

The FAA says it documents UAP sightings reported by pilots and shares verified information with the Department of Defense's All-Domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). According to the Department of Defense’s 2024 Annual Report, AARO received a total of 801 UAP reports as of April 30, 2023. Of these, 291 were newly submitted between August 31, 2022, and April 30, 2023. The report also noted that 171 of the total reports remained uncharacterized and unattributed due to lack of sufficient data, while 49 cases had been resolved and attributed to ordinary sources such as balloons, drones, or airborne clutter.

A recent NewsNation report also recently brought renewed attention to UAP activity in Arizona, particularly focusing on a striking piece of footage showing a supposed Jellyfish UAP. This thermal imaging clip, captured by a U.S. Marine in 2018, depicts a translucent, jellyfish-like object hovering and maneuvering in the sky over a military installation. The Jellyfish video captured in Arizona closely resembles a separate thermal video filmed over a U.S. military base in Iraq, which also showed an odd tentacled-shaped object hovering and maneuvering in unconventional ways.

However, NewsNation, also pointed out that some officials believe these unidentified objects could be advanced drones operated by foreign governments or drug cartels. Ron Vitiello, former acting director of U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, suggested that cartels might be using advanced drone technology for smuggling.

"Maybe they've got technology that we're not used to seeing in the drone space," Vitiello told NewsNation. "That's part of their business model, to always be able to iterate and innovate, so that they can continue to sell their poison into the United States."

Still, Arizona has a history of notable UAP incidents, most famously the "Phoenix Lights" of 1997. Thousands of people reported seeing a series of lights in a V-shaped formation over the state. While the military later said the lights were flares dropped during training exercises, the event remains a key point of interest for UAP enthusiasts and researchers.

Former Arizona Governor Fife Symington, who initially dismissed the 1997 sightings, later admitted he had witnessed the event himself. "I'm a pilot and I know just about every machine that flies. It was bigger than anything that I've ever seen. It remains a great mystery," Symington said in a 2007 interview.

As investigations continue, the exact nature and origin of these objects remain publicly unknown.