What is this at RAF Lakenheath?

[Timon]

This video is taken from a livestream on 3 December 2024 by Youtuber LibertyWing, who captured the original UFO incident at RAF Lakenheath, England on 21 November, before his channel was deleted by YouTube. In this video a number of flashing lights in a horizontal line can be seen above the base. Liberty Wing live stream at 58:30 - when the lights first appear

Originally I thought this might have been lens flare from the four trucks that are patrolling the base. However, the lights in the sky aren't in sync with the movements of the trucks and always stay horizontal whilst the trucks are moving down and to the left of the screen. The trucks continue to travel round the base throughout the video - and on one occassion duplicate the original shot - but no lights appear in the sky (1:16:38, 1:36:30, 2:35:17).
The only other times that lights appear in the sky are when planes come in to land and at 3:21:38 - when another light appears top left. So I don't think this is lens flare.

What do people think?

 

[Mendel]

First, they did not notice these lights at the time, only when they reviewed the footage later. That does suggest it could be a camera artefact.

To determine whether these are lens flares, it'd be important to have full, uncropped frames. It'd also be good to know the make and model of the camera.

Sometimes airports use special lights as navigation aids for incoming aircraft. This could be ruled out by a clear daytime image from the exact same camera position.

Could this have been a satellite flare?

 

[Calter]

I can't do a detailed analysis at the moment, but it wouldn't surprise me if at least the lights at 58:30 are lens flares from the trucks that come into view at pretty much the same time, the lights seem to come in pairs (just like the two lights in the truck), their positions seem to be inverted and they appear disappear as each truck enters the two areas that might be causing a flare.

If it is a lens flare, it seems to be fairly restricted to the center and with strong lights, your other three examples don't really fit those criteria so I personally wouldn't expect flares on those.

The light at 3:21:28 seems to be completely unrelated and way brighter (like an actual light) unless I'm looking at the wrong light.

 

[Mick West]

Originally I thought this might have been lens flare from the four trucks that are patrolling the base.

That's what it is.

However, the lights in the sky aren't in sync with the movements of the trucks

Yes they are

always stay horizontal whilst the trucks are moving down and to the left of the screen

The trucks move essentially horizontally at that point.

Here's the video from about 57:40. The top half has the levels boosted. Playing at 10x speed. The lights match the trucks.

 

[Scaramanga]

What do people think?

I think this is about as obvious lens flare as it gets. It is lens flare of whatever the bright lights are at the bottom of the image.

 

[Mendel]

A part of the confusion comes from the fact that only strong lights cause a visible lens flare, but all of the lights are overexposed, so it's hard to determine which ones were stronger than the others. With headlights, strength also depends on which way the vehicle is turned.

 

[Timon]

First, they did not notice these lights at the time, only when they reviewed the footage later. That does suggest it could be a camera artefact.

To determine whether these are lens flares, it'd be important to have full, uncropped frames. It'd also be good to know the make and model of the camera.

Sometimes airports use special lights as navigation aids for incoming aircraft. This could be ruled out by a clear daytime image from the exact same camera position.

Could this have been a satellite flare?

The lights in the sky are very faint and flashed for a couple of seconds, so very easy to miss with all the other much brighter lights in view. The daytime view is correct as stated in the video apart from the height, as the camera was on a tripod on top of a van, so that the view wasn't obstructed by the fence.
There are plenty of runway lights as you are looking almost directly down the main runway. There are very bright also static lights that are very close to where the trucks are when the lights appear in the sky - so why no lens flare from those?
I am not aware of how this could be produced by flare from a satellite - have you got any examples?

 

[Timon]

I can't do a detailed analysis at the moment, but it wouldn't surprise me if at least the lights at 58:30 are lens flares from the trucks that come into view at pretty much the same time, the lights seem to come in pairs (just like the two lights in the truck), their positions seem to be inverted and they appear disappear as each truck enters the two areas that might be causing a flare.

If it is a lens flare, it seems to be fairly restricted to the center and with strong lights, your other three examples don't really fit those criteria so I personally wouldn't expect flares on those.

The light at 3:21:28 seems to be completely unrelated and way brighter (like an actual light) unless I'm looking at the wrong light.

The light at 3:21:28 appears around the same height as the other lights and is similar. I mentioned it as I have no clue what this is (it doesn't look like any plane or helicopter and there were none with transponders in that position at the time). Also there doesn't seem to be anything that would cause this to be a lens flare.

 

[Timon]

I think this is about as obvious lens flare as it gets. It is lens flare of whatever the bright lights are at the bottom of the image.

View attachment 78116

Whilst I agree that it seems likely that this is lens flare, it doesn't behave like any lens flare I have seen. Please note the screenshot you are showing is a COMPOSITE of several frames taken over 37 seconds. During that time the 4 vehicles were moving down the frame - but the lights in the sky remain horizontal - they do not change with the vehicle movement- as would be the case if it was due to lens flare.
Also I can't see any light source that would be the cause of lens flare for the similar blinking light in the sky at 31:21:39.

 

[Timon]

That's what it is.


Yes they are


The trucks move essentially horizontally at that point.

Here's the video from about 57:40. The top half has the levels boosted. Playing at 10x speed. The lights match the trucks.

View attachment 78115

Thanks for this. I have gone through the sequence many times on the original and on the clip you shared.
1. The first light in the sky appears as the first truck passes the stationary truck with its redtail lights pointing at the camera - pretty much centre frame. The light in the sky appears slightly to the left. However, the light in the sky is not present when the last two trucks pass exactly the same spot.
2. The position of the blinking lights in the sky that are present when the second two trucks go down the runway is different to when the first two trucks are in the same position.
3. Also a few frames in from the end of your clip, a light appears in the sky with no corresponding truck/light source on the ground.
4. The lights in the sky blink, whilst the lights source from the trucks is steady (even accounting for movement).
The camera has not moved the whole time so that would seem to rule out lens flare?
I will carry out a frame by frame analysis, to see if I can calcultae the position of the trucklight that could cause a flare and see if that is consistent with the position of the light in the sky - as it doesn't seem to be at the moment, but this is all new to me, so I am learning as I go.
I have asked LibertyWing if I could have a copy of the original footage, but although he said he would when I have met him, he has still not sent it, as I belive he has been in touch with George Knapp and Jeremy Corbell about the incident and they may have asked for the rights.

 

[Mendel]

The daytime view is correct as stated in the video apart from the height, as the camera was on a tripod on top of a van, so that the view wasn't obstructed by the fence.

The height changes the perspective, so it's hard to compare.

 

[Calter]

However, the light in the sky is not present when the last two trucks pass exactly the same spot.

This is simply not true, the light shows up in pretty much the same spot

2. The position of the blinking lights in the sky that are present when the second two trucks go down the runway is different to when the first two trucks are in the same position.

This is not entirely correct but not entirely wrong either, by the time the second set of truck reaches the spot that seems to cause the flare, there is no set of blinking lights (rather than the position being different), but the video also zooms in basically around that time, so it's possible if they had not zoomed in for a second longer then we would have seen it. But the lights on the second set of trucks seem dimmer so it's also possible they weren't bright enough to cause the second glare.

3. Also a few frames in from the end of your clip, a light appears in the sky with no corresponding truck/light source on the ground.

It would help if you could point out what light you are talking about, but I think you mean this one and you can see a truck on the opposite side of the screen looks the brightest when that light appears (suggesting it's also a flare)

4. The lights in the sky blink, whilst the lights source from the trucks is steady (even accounting for movement).

We can see in the video that the lights do not have a consistent brightness, they are constantly going dimmer and brighter probably due to factors such as atmospheric changes and just general road bumpiness causing the angle the light hits the camera to constantly change. You can see this if you pay attention to Mick's video, the most notable sign being the starburst the headlights have growing slightly smaller and larger.

 

[Timon]

I have reviewed the video with a digital forensics expert who has confirmed that it is most likely lens flare - debunked!