Incident · December 2018 · Mount Etna, Sicily (sensor over the Mediterranean)
Mount Etna object (2018 drone video)
Also known as Mt. Etna object, Etna UAP
Explained. AARO assesses with moderate confidence that the object was a balloon about 170 kilometres from the caldera, moving with the wind, and that optical effects near the volcano made it appear to pass through the plume. (source)
In December 2018 a forward-looking infrared sensor aboard an uncrewed U.S. Air Force aircraft over the Mediterranean recorded an object that appeared to fly through the plume of superheated gas and ash from an eruption of Mount Etna in Sicily. AARO, working with intelligence-community, scientific and international partners and a volcanologist, used full-motion video analysis, 3D modelling and pixel-level examination, and concluded with moderate confidence that the footage shows a balloon drifting with the wind about 170 kilometres from the caldera; the intense atmospheric conditions near the volcano distorted the image so that it seemed to cross the plume.
Jon Kosloski presented the case at the Senate hearing of 19 November 2024, where he said "170 meters"; AARO's published release, posted the same day, says kilometres.
Sources: AARO release on DVIDS (2024) · DefenseScoop (2024)
Facts and claims
- documented In December 2018 an infrared sensor on an uncrewed U.S. Air Force platform over the Mediterranean filmed an object that appears to transit the plume of an erupting Mount Etna. AARO assesses with moderate confidence that it “depicts a balloon approximately 170 kilometers from the caldera traveling at wind speed and direction”, made to seem inside the plume by optical effects from the intense atmospheric conditions. Source: dvidshub.net (archived)
- claimed Presenting the case to senators, Jon Kosloski said analysts assessed “that the object was actually 170 meters away from the plume and not flying through it”; AARO's written release gives 170 kilometres. — Jon T. Kosloski Source: defensescoop.com (archived)
Connected files
Documents
- AARO case slides for the Senate Armed Services subcommittee (19 November 2024) (documented in) — AARO: with moderate confidence a balloon about 170 km from the volcano
Programs
- All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (investigated by)
Hearings & briefings
- Senate Armed Services Subcommittee hearing with AARO Director (discussed at) — Kosloski presented it at his first Senate hearing
People
- Jon T. Kosloski (statements by)