(...)
A forward flying horseshoe (meaning it flies in the direction of the opening)
can ionize the air that enters the interior section of the
horseshoe with an electric discharge between electrodes at both sides of the horseshoe entrance.
This ionized air or cold plasma
can be held in the interior space
using magnetic fields to trap it.
As more ionized air enters the section
, the plasma will become pressurized. The pressurized plasma can
then be
ejected via fluctuations in the magnetic fields for fast acceleration and braking, as well as quick altitude changes.
In addition,
some of the plasma can be ingested into the vehicle
to power maneuvering jets located throughout the vehicle surface. See the figure below.
(...)
But what makes building something like this
beyond our current capability is the power source.
The power generation needed for the electrodes, magnetic fields, and plasma actuators
is very large and both the Yukon and Aguadilla UAPs were very small vehicles.
We currently do not have a way to power such a vehicle unless we have discovered
a source of power beyond our existing technology.
As for the tethered payload, I don't have much to go on.
The vehicle may be dropping a sensor in a specific area
, delivering a payload to another location
, conducting a test with a special sensor, etc.
There is just no way to tell.
The released image does have an interesting detail as seen below. Could that be the tethered object?