Fighter jets scramble to examine mysterious orb over Hawaii, military officials say Hawaii Air National Guard F-22 Raptors taxi down the Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam flight line Dec. 11, 2018, during exercise Sentry Aloha. (U.S. Air National Guard photo by Senior Airman John Linzmeier)
A mysterious orb floating over Hawaii prompted the U.S. military to scramble fighter jets to investigate, authorities reported.
The object seen over Kauai on Monday, Feb. 14, appeared to be an unmanned balloon with no identification markings, Maj. Gen. Kenneth Hara, Hawaii’s adjutant general, said in a series of Twitter posts.
identify the object, visually confirming an unmanned balloon without observable identification markings. As part of our normal daily operations, we closely track all vessels and aircraft in the Indo-Pacific area of operations through a combination of joint capabilities 2/3
— Kenneth S Hara (@HawaiiTAG) February 17, 2022
Local officials and onlookers identified the fighter jets as F-22s, The Drive reported.
Residents said the bright white orb appeared to be stationary, Hawaii News Now reported. Some reported hearing “loud booms” and speculated the military had shot it down.
Military officials said they did not fire on the object, according to the publication. They are continuing to track the orb.
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