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REPOST (UPDATED & W/ PICTURES)
F-22s Scrambled To Investigate A Mysterious High-Altitude Balloon Off The Coast Of Hawaii (Updated)
The intercept of a suspicious balloon near Kauai's north shore is peculiar for a number of reasons.
February 18, 2022
Fighters were scrambled by Pacific Air Forces on Monday, February 14, in order to intercept an unmanned balloon floating off the coast of the Hawaiian island of Kauai. U.S. Pacific Air Forces (PACAF) has confirmed the incident but has not released additional details given that the incident is still being investigated.
The Adjudant General of Hawaii, the state’s top-ranking military officer, posted a statement to Twitter saying that “Indo-Pacific Command detected a high-altitude object floating in air in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands. In accordance with homeland defense procedures, Pacific Air Forces launched tactical aircraft to intercept and identify the object, visually confirming an unmanned balloon without observable identification markings.” It has not been officially confirmed what type of aircraft or how many were launched, but the only fighters based in Hawaii proper are F-22s. Those jets have the quick-reaction alert mission and are typically scrambled in response to aircraft in distress, unidentified aircraft and even vessels, hijackings, and potential adversary movements in the vicinity of the Hawaiian Islands. Local residents and officials have also stated that F-22 were the aircraft that went to check out the balloon.
Kauai County Councilwoman Felicia Cowen told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that she heard two booms, both loud enough to shake her house. “I would like to understand what were the powerful explosion sounds that were strong enough to shake my house in Kilauea, Kauai, and what looked like smoke in the sky. Was any object hit and did it explode? If so, what was it, and why?” However, an Air Force spokesperson told the paper on Thursday, February 17, that the “responding aircraft did not destroy the balloon.” The spokesperson continued that the service is “actively monitoring it via joint capabilities and it is under evaluation,” adding that “we don’t have anything else to provide at this time."
The Department of Energy (DOE) and Sandia National Laboratories operate a nearby rocket launch range, the Kauai Test Facility (KTF), at the west end of the island. The KTF is situated on the grounds of the larger Pacific Missile Range Facility (PMRF), which the U.S. military operates and also includes Barking Sands Airport.
Full article:
https://www.thedrive.com/the-war-zone/44352/f-22s-scrambled-to-investigate-suspicious-high-altitude-balloon-off-the-coast-of-hawaii
Twitter links:
https://twitter.com/nevslin/status/1493638115629563910
https://twitter.com/HawaiiTAG/status/1494131284314001408