What kind of aircraft displays these kind of lights?

Quirky Lantern

Quirky Lantern

New Member
This video has been posted by X user, @FriendsAboveUs. It shows what I assume to be some sort of aircraft, but I'm not sure what it could be. The configuration of lights is strange, to my eyes.

I don't have complete information about the video. It was filmed 'near Alexandria', Louisiana, in the boonies (whatever they are!) on the evening of August 24th. I'm afraid I don't have a time. It was moving in a south-easterly direction, and apparently made no sound. Here is the YouTube video:

Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZFbnk3LO0s


The original X post is here:

Source: https://twitter.com/FriendsAboveUs/status/1694919535420190811


And user @TobyAM has posted a stabilized version:

Source: https://twitter.com/TobyAM/status/1696024301734965441



It is, apparently, 'impossible for it to be any aircraft', but that seems unlikely to me. Question is, what is it?

1693212828563.png
 
An exact time would be super useful.

There's a variety of military traffic around there, like this:
2023-08-28_13-01-48.jpg

2:20 UTC on the 25th is 9:20PM CDT on the 24th
 
Last edited:
The argument on the twitter thread by TobyAM isn't watertight:
They appear to be separate, silent lights holding tight configuration. You can see a few stars passing between them, once clearly at 1 minute mark.
Content from External Source
because aeroplanes are not convex objects. There are points on them such that space between those points is not part of the plane. Therefore a star can appear between the lights, in particular of those lights are mounted on extremities, which is pretty common on aeroplanes.

If I'm not mistaken, there were also times when a star not inside the convex hull of the lights briefly disappeared, as if whatever non-illuminated rigid structure the lights were mounted on extended beyond the lights. However, that might be the victim of compression artefacts.

So I'm definitely not ready to rule out them being a single rigid structure yet. So I'd also say the "impossible" is an unsubstantiated claim too at this point in time.

Sure, the lights are in a curious arrangement, but that doesn't mean an aircraft is impossible. Heck - what would night-time in-flight refuelling look like, I genuinely have no idea, but I wouldn't be surprised if it was somewhat weird (and OK, that's not rigidly mounted, I accept that, I'm just keeping all options open until they're clearly excluded).
 
That puts in the Northern upper sky from Alexandria Louisiana at the time the plane looked at by Mick with that refuelling aircraft.
 
FatPhil said:
Heck - what would night-time in-flight refuelling look like, I genuinely have no idea,
Click to expand...
That was my first thought as well.

There is absolutely no reason to put a red strobe on a flying saucer, but every airliner has one.

And honestly it's probably only a matter of time until @JMartJr joins this thread and explains to us that he's personally flown kites like this one (big triangular LED kite on top, smaller LED kite flying off the same line below).
 
Mendel said:
That was my first thought as well.

There is absolutely no reason to put a red strobe on a flying saucer, but every airliner has one.
Click to expand...

OK, I need a bigger telly.

I honestly hadn't seen the "stratotanker" in @Mick West's screenshot. It was only @jarirmai's "looked at by Mick with that refuelling aircraft." that made me do a double take. I was just spitballing - I thought I was being original!

Anyway, it seems we have at least 3 independently powered thought trains all pointing towards the same destination, which is reassuring.
 
Mendel said:
And honestly it's probably only a matter of time until @JMartJr joins this thread and explains to us that he's personally flown kites like this one (big triangular LED kite on top, smaller LED kite flying off the same line below).
Click to expand...
Well... yes, but this does not look like anything I'VE flown! Ball's back in y'all's court, airplane guys.
 
Pretty sure that's one of the couple dozen USAF KC-135s modified under the Multi-Point Refueling System program to add underwing refueling pods.

Boeing_KC-135R_Multipoint_Refueling.JPEG.jpeg

There are primarily two types of aerial refueling systems used by military forces around the world. The USAF, and a small number of other military forces, use what's called the "flying boom." With this system a crewmember in the tanker a/c steers ("flies") a refueling nozzle into the receiving aircraft. In the photo above, the boom is the small, winged "stinger" protruding from under the tail.

The other system used by the USN and most of the rest of the world is known as the "probe and drogue" system. With this system, the fueling aircraft plays out a hose with a stabilizing drogue (looks something like a large badminton shuttlecock) on its end that the pilot of the receiving a/c maneuvers his aircraft to insert what amounts to a pipe with a valve (probe) on its end into the drogue. The hose/drogue pods are seen in the above photo under each wing on the tanker.

One of the lessons learned from the Gulf War was the USAF had limited capability to refuel USN/NATO/Coalition a/c equipped with an inflight refueling probe. To offset that limitation, the USAF was directed to add underwing pods to a limited number of KC-135s. These aircraft retained their boom refueling capability, and added the two underwing pods as seen above.

Tankers equipped with an underwing drogue system usually have a light under each wing, and a smaller, dimmer light or (set of lights) on the drogue when it's extended. I can't say with 100% confidence that's what's in that video because frankly, I've never personally seen a probe & drogue system used at night like I have the boom system. Everything is in the right place, however, and lights look right.

Source: https://youtu.be/5h7Igz4sd0c?si=QXux38TdbnlSwBiU


Here's the best video I could find showing a night refueling from an MPRS KC-135, and it's from a digital combat simulation (DCS) model.
 
FatPhil said:
Anyway, it seems we have at least 3 independently powered thought trains all pointing towards the same destination, which is reassuring.
Click to expand...
that just means we have similar conditioning

if you showed that clip on r/ufos, I'm pretty sure several people would independently arrive at the thought that it's a spacecraft :p
 
Mick West said:
An exact time would be super useful.

There's a variety of military traffic around there, like this:
2023-08-28_13-01-48.jpg

2:20 UTC on the 25th is 9PM CDT on the 24th
Click to expand...

Some aircraft seem to switch off their ADSB tracking as they initiate Air-to-air refuelling probably for safety reasons. I often find that if you go either +15 or -15m you can see the receiving aircraft either attach with or detach from the tanker aircraft.

15 mins before @Mick West 's screenshot we can see that the KC-135 BOLT47 was being trailed by US Navy E-6B RUFF07.

https://globe.adsbexchange.com/?ica...81&lon=-90.826&zoom=11.2&showTrace=2023-08-25
1693294887174.png

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_E-6_Mercury

https://www.jetphotos.com/photo/7413004

1693295071363.png
 
If refuelling is happening here and the green light / red strobe plane is the tanker, it seems odd the other lights are in front? Could some other formation flying test be happening here?

1693295331215.png
 
So one large jet being refueled by another and the refuelling aircraft has it's nav lights off and the cluster of lights is the refuelling drogue, perhaps in air refueling at night has a protocol where the only lit thing is the drogue to avoid mistakes as to which part is the fuel drogue?
 
jarlrmai said:
If refuelling is happening here and the green light / red strobe plane is the tanker, it seems odd the other lights are in front?
Click to expand...
If you're looking from behind, a lower aircraft could appear to be in front when it's not.
 
Not for the 1st time I find myself wishing there was some way of loading KMLs into Stellarium, or having Google Earth show a specific night sky
 
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boeing_E-6_Mercury

Interesting

The E-6 cannot use the probe-and-drogue in-flight refueling method that most other US Navy aircraft use. It uses a flying boom receptacle on the upper-forward fuselage, making it, like the USN's Boeing P-8 Poseidon aircraft, reliant upon specific U.S. Air Force aircraft (KC-135 Stratotanker, KC-10 Extender, and KC-46 Pegasus) for in-flight refueling.[6]
Content from External Source
https://www.airliners.net/photo/USA-Navy/Boeing-E-6B-Mercury-707-300/1016462

Rare shot of a refueling operation about to take place with a KC135 extending the boom to a Navy E-6 high above the city of Green Bay.
Content from External Source
1693300493074.png
 
If it makes any difference they're now saying that it was heading in a north-easterly direction, despite saying this in a previous tweet:

1693328121050.png
 
2023-08-29_11-07-45.jpg

9:23 PM CDT is 02:23AM UTC, the next day (aug 25), 'near Alexandria', Louisiana, which puts the tanker going SE.

2023-08-29_11-17-10.jpg
 
Quirky Lantern said:
If it makes any difference they're now saying that it was heading in a north-easterly direction, despite saying this in a previous tweet:

1693328121050.png
Click to expand...
Listen quirky,

I'm more then happy to see you guys looking for an answer.
As stated in the video. I never seen anything like this before.


This was the first one that blinked. And resembled an airplane but not upon closer inspection.
I made a mistake. And have since deleted that incorrect information.

I can film a daytime video of the exactly same position and pan if you feel that strongly about me correcting you.

But let this be clear. Regardless of how this turns out.
As you now have all the info needed.
I still have hundreds of videos all displaying completely unique Phenomenon on my account.
this one is not even on the top 10.

So by all means give it your best shot.
I'm genuinely curious If you can find a precise answer.
 
eyeSpy said:
Without giving you my home address? No lol
What reason would you need to have a more precise Location?
Is that not enough for deduction here?
Click to expand...
Your exact location allows us to correlate what you saw with the position of the stars in your video.
 
jarlrmai said:
Your exact location allows us to correlate what you saw with the position of the stars in your video.
Click to expand...
How much "wiggle room" do you have with that? I understand somebody not wanting to post their address on the Internet, in these days we're living in, and so wonder if an approximation would work tolerably well (and if so, how loosely approximate is no longer useful.)
 
JMartJr said:
How much "wiggle room" do you have with that? I understand somebody not wanting to post their address on the Internet, in these days we're living in, and so wonder if an approximation would work tolerably well (and if so, how loosely approximate is no longer useful.)
Click to expand...
How about first you show me what you think you have that was in my already given approximate location and time that could possibly fit this description. Give me an specific reason why it's so necessary.

To ask for this would imply you are either zeroing in on something specific or just fishing while you continue to question.

I like to give the benefit of the doubt so please share. And then I can make that determination if all seems valid.

As they say here,
balls in your court.
 
eyeSpy said:
ts
To ask for this would imply you are either zeroing in on something specific or just fishing while you continue to question.
Click to expand...
well yes
the video shows the lights moving almost directly away from you, and then turning towards 3 o'clock
knowing your approximate position, it's easier to determine if there are aircraft that fit this path

do you check flightradar at all when you see lights in the sky?
 
It's hard to say with a plane track not too much wriggle room I'd guess if we are matching to individual stars

What I do know is the start of the video is framed on here

https://nova.astrometry.net/user_images/8541920#annotated

And the end is here near Cepheus

https://nova.astrometry.net/user_images/8541965#annotated

So from near Alexandria at the time stated 02:23 UTC that is looking due north at Alrakis (the exact location does not affect the star view much)

The object makes this path across the sky

starmap.png
 
Mendel said:
well yes
the video shows the lights moving almost directly away from you, and then turning towards 3 o'clock
knowing your approximate position, it's easier to determine if there are aircraft that fit this path

do you check flightradar at all when you see lights in the sky?
Click to expand...
Well yes ...what?
your assuming it's a plane with no proof or evidence.
That's why we are here.

You have my almost exact location.
If you can't find anything in that area right now that you can show me.... well

"When you have eliminated all which is impossible then whatever remains, however improbable, must be the truth."
 
jarlrmai said:
It's hard to say with a plane track not too much wriggle room I'd guess if we are matching to individual stars

What I do know is the start of the video is framed on here

https://nova.astrometry.net/user_images/8541920#annotated

And the end is here near Cepheus

https://nova.astrometry.net/user_images/8541965#annotated

So from near Alexandria at the time stated 02:23 UTC that is looking due north at Alrakis (the exact location does not affect the star view much)

The object makes this path across the sky

starmap.png
Click to expand...
So your telling me you still have no idea what it is then?
 
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