Case · C-083
Etna: the object that seemed to cross the plume, a balloon according to AARO
Mediterranean Sea, eastern Sicily (Etna) · Italy · 2018
In flight Military witnesses Video
Explained
- What happened
- In 2018 a U.S. military drone flying over the Mediterranean, filming an eruption of Etna, recorded a small object that appeared to cross the plume of gas and ash. On November 19, 2024, AARO director Jon Kosloski showed the video to the Senate, calling it a hard case to resolve, and explained that the object was at a distance from the plume and did not cross it. Sources differ on the estimated distance (about 170 kilometers from the volcano according to AARO's slides, about 170 meters from the plume in press accounts); the positions of the drone and the object are not public and the point on the map indicates the volcano.
- Proposed explanation
- AARO assesses with moderate confidence that it was a balloon carried by the wind; an analysis of pixel brightness, three-dimensional models and the consultation of a volcanologist indicate that the object did not pass through the plume.
- Official investigation
- AARO
Official documents
- AARO Case Slides (Senate Armed Services Subcommittee on Emerging Threats and Capabilities hearing) · All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO) · Nov 19, 2024
Sources
- DefenseScoop, AARO briefs the Senate on the GO FAST, Puerto Rico and Etna cases (November 19, 2024) (press)
- The Debrief, “We Do Have Some Very Anomalous Objects” – Kosloski hearing (November 19, 2024) (press, pro-disclosure)
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