Texas UFO Update

On Wednesday, January 23, 2008, the Naval Air Station Reserve Base in Fort Worth said that the UFOs reported by Stephenville residents on the evening of January 8, were actually 10 F-16 fighter jets conducting training missions. Initially, this same base issued statements denying that any military aircraft were in the skies over Erath County on the evening of January 8.

The UFO sightings started coming in over two weeks ago to a staff reporter at the Stephenville Empire-Tribune. About a dozen people reported seeing low-flying, bright lights that changed configuration and that sped away at up to 3,000 MPH. All of the reports were similar and all reported that the UFO made absolutely no noise. Witnesses said that the UFOs flew by twice, the second time they were being chased by two F-16 fighter jets that couldn't keep up.

Based on the number and credibility of the witnesses (including a constable and a private pilot), the Mutual UFO Network, MUFON, decided to investigate the reports and sent their field investigators to the Stephenville area on January 19. According to their website, 200 official reports were taken. MUFON is expected to release a report on their findings within the next couple of months.

During the last two weeks, military officials have made statements that there were no military aircraft in the Stephenville area on the evening of January 8, and they explained that what the UFO witnesses could have seen was a light illusion caused by the setting sun's rays reflecting off of a commercial plane. The military changed their story Wednesday, saying that 10 F-16 fighter jets were training near Stephenville about the time of the sightings.

In their statement, the Air Force Reserve claimed that the delay in reporting the F-16 activity was because of a mistake in the reporting resulted from an internal communications problem between offices at the base. The report said the planes were from the 457th Fighter Squadron based at the reserve base outside of Fort Worth, Texas

The residents of Stephenville and the surrounding area are used to F-16 jets flying overhead; therefore, they are sticking to their stories. They say that what they saw could not have been an airplane. The lights were too bright and changed configuration. It moved at about 3,000 MPH, and it made absolutely no sound.

Additionally, the military's statement gives credibility to the UFO reports. Many witnesses reported seeing fighter jets chasing the object the second time it passed. MUFON has a page on its website titled, "Mutual UFO Network - UFO News" which has detailed coverage of the Stephenville, Texas UFOs from the, "Larry King Live," show to the latest developments.