Thursday, May 31, 2018

Operación NOA - Remembering the Belén UFO Case



Source: ICOU (Argentina)
Date: 05.30.2018


Operación NOA - Remembering the Belén UFO case
By Luis Burgos

A controversial case occurred in this locality of Catamarca in the late 1950s. Fernando Arquibola García claimed to have made contact with a "cylindrical" UFO resting vertically over a road in Belén at noon on January 1, 1958.

While the percipient was not aware of the presence of any occupants (beings), he perceived "voices" in Spanish issuing from within the object, sending out messages.

Whether the case is real or a fabrication, what makes it special is that it is apparently the first case involving the non-telepathic transmission of messages without visible entities in sight, but with a UFO in plain sight! Either the humanoids chose to refuse to disembark from their craft or telepathic communication wasn't fully perfected at the time (?). Argentinean ufology never recorded a similar case again.

[Translation (c) 2018 S. Corrales, IHU]

Mexico: The North American T-28 Trojan, The Mexican Air Force and UFOs



Source: Alfonso Salazar
Date: 05.31.2018


Mexico: The North American T-28 Trojan, The Mexican Air Force and UFOs
By Alfonso Salazar

The story was told to me by an aeronautical engineer who served in the Mexican Air Force around the 1970s, flying in a squadron of T-28s based out of Cozumel.



On several occasions, while conducting nocturnal flights, they were able to observe several luminous objects over the sea engaging in maneuvers that were impossible for any known airplane or helicopter. These lights were red and orange. Even mechanics and ground personnel at Air Base Number 4 in Cozumel got to see these luminous objects, which we would undoubtedly classify as unidentified flying objects (UFOs). No reports were ever filed about what the pilots saw over the water, and many pilots were convinced that these were indeed UFOS.



[Translation (c) 2018 S. Corrales, IHU]

Mexico: "Black Diamond" over Toluca on Video



Source: El Diario de Santiago (www.radiosantiago.cl) and Planeta UFO
Date: 05.25.2018


Mexico: "Black Diamond" over Toluca on Video

Chile's Radio Santiago posted a news item concerning an unidentified object with a curious configuration, featured in a video reportedly taken in the Mexican city of Toluca. The text - kindly provided to us by Planeta UFO - reads as follows:

"We were sent this record from the city of Toluca in the state of Mexico. Is it a UFO or one of the so-called Globos de Cantoya (Chinese Lanterns)? It should be noted that Cantoya Balloons are illuminated within, and this UFO appears to lack any lights whatsoever."

The video of the unusual daylight object is available at: https://youtu.be/F7Hu6HwKXjM

Argentina: "Wandering UFO" over Retiro



Source: Cronica (Buenos Aires) and Planeta UFO
Date: 05.27.2018


Argentina: "Wandering UFO" over Retiro

A flying object caught the attention of a pedestrian in the vicinity of the microbus terminal.
The object flew over the 'Reloj de los Ingleses' at Plaza San Martin.

Hugo Cubas was walking to work along a path in Plaza San Martín, in the heart of the eponymous district in Retiro, on Friday May 18 around 7 o'clock.

According to his testimony, it was a beautiful morning, when suddenly, from behind the tower of a major international hotel, he saw an image in the sky that caught his attention, as it was not an airplane or a helicopter, but nevertheless under intelligent control. He immediately took out his cellphone and took three snapshots, one of them with the enormous building to the left of the UFO.

The second photo had Torre de los Ingleses in the foreground, with an passenger airliner that had either taken off from the Jorge Newbery Airport or about to land there.



The third photo shows another commercial airliner flying north, probably over Rio de La Plata. In the foreground there is the bough of a large tree and to the right, yet again, the strange, seemingly solid light that moves intellgently.

Although Cubas kindly shared his images with us in an effort to ascertain whether it was a hot air balloon or a weather balloon, it was impossible to confirm the presence of any known objects in the vicnity. What is clear is that Buenos Aires, like many other places around the world, was the scene of an inexplicable event in its skies.

[Translation (c) 2018 S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to Guillermo Giménez, Planeta UFO. Photos courtesy of Cronica and Mr. Hugo Cubas]

Thursday, May 17, 2018

Mexico: Airliner Struck By UFO (2015)



Our friend and colleague Alfonso Salazar shares with us some photographs of the Interjet Airbus A-320 (Registration XA-BIO) that was struck by an unidentified flying object at 23:00 hours on 15 August 2015. The photos were taken by personnel at Mexico City International Airport and the case was investigated by Mr. Salazar himself.

Tuesday, May 15, 2018

Giant Triangular UFO Visited Antofagasta Twice (1978)



[The late Dr. Osvaldo Muray was perhaps one of Chile’s most enterprising researchers, and INEXPLICATA is honored to have featured his work in past issues. Our friend and colleague Raul Núñez has shared the latest issue of NOUFA (Noticiero Ufológico Autónomo - #55, May 2018) with an article by Dr. Muray that will startle our readers – Scott Corrales, IHU]

Giant Triangular UFO Visited Antofagasta Twice
By Dr. Osvaldo Muray

In both instances, aircraft from the Chilean Air Force based at Cerro Moreno scrambled in pursuit of the UFO, whose size was estimated at fifty times that of a fighter-bomber. During its second visit, it was witnessed by thousands of onlookers from San Pedro de Atacama until it hovered above the air base.

A flying triangle of a size equivalent to some fifty fighter bombers (an estimated length of three hundred meters) visited the city of Antofagasta during the second half of 1978 and in both instances was pursued by fighters from the Antofagasta Cerro Moreno air facility of the Chilean Air Force, obviously without much success. This is one of the most spectacular events to have taken place in Chile in modern times, and curiously both events are scarcely known, in spite of the fact that it among the best-documented cases, with witnesses and experiencers of the highest solvency one could wish.

The first case occurred round the month of October, 1978, and the second in December. Two FaCH pilots were involved in the first and during the second, three pilots sent by an Air Force general. During the second incident, the giant flying triangle was seen from San Pedro de Atacama (on the border with Argentina) until it reached the coast, which means a journey four hundred kilometers in less than five minutes. The second case involved hundreds of witnesses who followed the path of the mysterious vessel, which after displaying itself in a broad area of Chile’s Sixth Region, vanished as enigmatically as it arrived.

There are no exact dates for either the first or second case. However, both were confirmed by Gen. Benjamin Opazo Brull, Wing Commander 1, based at Cerro Moreno, shortly after the spectacular fighter chases became known. It is possible, however, to place the first of them around October, and its main protagonist was Captain Danilo Catalán Farias, a pilot with eleven years’ experience in fighter aircraft at the time.



According to the stories that became known months after the events occurred, it was said that Catalán and another pilot were given orders to scramble their fighters and intercept an enormous object of unknown origin approaching from the Argentinean border toward Antofagasta. Two F5-E fighters took off swiftly to accomplish the mission.

Shortly after takeoff, Catalan’s wingman had to return to base due to being low on fuel, while the task ahead promised to be long and without a clearly scheduled return. Danilo Catalán opened his afterburners and placed himself only a few miles from the object, ascertaining that it was triangular and enshrouded in a strange cloudiness. The UFO did not welcome the Chilean flyer’s scrutiny and perhaps in a display of its immense superiority, made an unexpected 90-degree turn, impossible for any terrestrial aircraft, and vanished from the airspace.

Captain Catalán, in the measure that the enormous and enigmatic craft drew closer, provided a detailed description of what was going on during the cat-and-mouse game. These details were forwarded immediately to the Air Force Command for two major reasons: one, the case could prove to be extraordinary and have an unexpected outcome, and two, the Air Force Commandant at the time, Gen. Fernando Matthei, had a particular interest in the subject.

Catalán’s flight toward the giant triangle was very swift, since the pilot had been ready to take off on a training mission. At that precise moment, the control tower advised him that the radar screens showed an unidentified flying object – a concept involving any aircraft entering national airspace and remaining unidentified until it is indeed identified and requests permission to transit through the air corridors.

Catalan’s wingman’s fighter set off to intercept the object but was unable to find it. Low on fuel, it returned to base. Catalán substituted his companion in finding the UFO, gaining altitude until he found it, coming within two miles of the object. At that altitude, they were aware of what they were getting involved with.

The pilot was able to see a massive structure, larger than any known airplane. The weather was clear with excellent visibility. The shock waves produced between two aircraft as they approach each other were tremendous, which gave an idea of the UFO’s size. Finding itself harried, the object made the turn discussed earlier and disappeared.

All of this was picked up and ascertained by the radar at the Cerro Moreno control tower.

The disappearance of the flying triangle did not mean the matter was over…at least not for the UFOs.



The UFO returned in mid-December, two months after Captain Danilo Catalán’s failed pursuit. This time it was accompanied by tremendous expectation as it made its way over the heads of thousands of onlookers in a wide area of the Chile’s Second Region.

The first to become aware of the UFOs presence were the Carabineros (state police) of San Pedro de Atacama, a small Chilean community close to the border with Argentina and Bolivia. The policemen radioed their superiors in Antofagasta, some 400 kilometers to the west, that an enormous object with blinding lights was headed for the coast.

Students of the Instituto Superior de Carabineros who were surveying the area had a similar sighting. The object was later seen by thousands of residents of the city of Calama and picked up by the control tower at the city’s airport.

News of the UFO’s presence reached the control tower of the Cerro Moreno air base in Antofagasta, where three F5-E fighter-bombers were scrambled. The squadron consisted of Cmdr. Javier Prat Colon, Capt. Luis Lira Bustos and Lt. José Fernández Marín. Commander Prat subsequently made the following narration of their fantastic experience:

“The time was approximately twenty hours on a day in December 1978 when we were given the order to take off. Calama had advised us of a large object at some 10,000 feet. When I was in flight, I was told to head to the vicinity of Maria Elena (a major nitrate field), where it had been seen last. I flew there, and it was still daylight. It was completely clear, cloudless and there was still some darkness in the upper elevations.

“We teamed up with the fighter behind me at 20,000 feet to insure that we would be above whatever we were going to encounter. We headed for the area and found nothing at all. After making a few turns over Maria Elena and Pedro de Valdivia (another nitrate field), we found a third fighter engaged in a similar task, that is to say, finding an object allegedly at ten thousand feet.

“In order to confirm this, I looked first to the east, where it should have been darker and stars should have been visible, but there were none. It was toward the zenith, and even toward the West, that we found the large UFO. I asked Lt. José Fernandez Marin in the other plane if he could see something shining to our left and replied affirmatively, adding that he was heading it its direction. There was a ten mile or more separation between us. Lt. Fernandez had fallen behind and I had lost him from sight during one of the turns, and he was approaching at high speed. He employed the excess velocity to make direct run at the UFO.

“I asked him to read out his altitude. I didn’t see it, but I began my own turn and ascended toward the UFO. Since we did not have it in sight and were heading toward a common point, we had to be careful. I told the control tower that we had seen the UFO, we were heading for it and that I estimated it to be at some 70,000 feet. I later thought that I’d exaggerated the altitude. I repeat: I estimate some 70,000 feet, as Fernández read out the distance. He ascended to 30,000 and I flew at 25,000, keeping five thousand feet between us. At the moment that Fernandez’s aircraft began condensing, we were already at some thirty five or thirty eight thousand feet.

“By design, the fighter cannot go beyond 50,000 feet. I then told him to advise me when he’d exceeded that mark. I reached 48,000 and Fernández hit 53,000, and the UFO was still overhead. When we were around thirty five thousand feet, the object began changing its configuration from round to triangular, and the ratio I managed to estimate been the UFO and Fernandez’s aircraft was one to fifty, approximately, and I can say this, because in order for the UFO to be visible from as far away as Tocopila, Cerro Moreno, Calama and other points from which it could be seen simultaneously meant that it size must be tremendous. The Carabineros from Monturaqui and San Pedro de Atacama were the first to see it and they notified the other plane (the one flown by Captain Lira).

“The UFO was completely motionless. I can say this because we were flying under it at 48,000 feet.”
Lieutenant Fernández added the following on his part: “I exceeded 53,000 feet, but at 35,000 feet I advised Commander Prat that I could see the UFO had a triangular shape and asked him for confirmation. He replied that it was triangular. From then on, it grew in size but remained in a well-defined triangular configuration, very well defined.”

Commander Prat added to the object’s description: “It was a triangle, and I explain it as looking like three neon lights joined at their ends. The color was the same color as neon light – an intense blue color, very intense. It was black at its core, but Lieutenant Fernández says that pilots in the other fighter reported seeing something in the black part.”

Lieutenant Fernández added: “What I was able to see in the black area was really that it was darker, that is to say, it remained blue but more diffuse, and its shape was completely triangular. It seemed to have a ribbon…but I saw nothing else.”

Commander Corona recalls: “It was as quite a shock. I told myself, ‘this is the second time’ – I remembered what happened to Captain Danilo Catalán. I didn’t know that his sighting had involved a triangular object. I related it due to the fact that it escaped from him at a ninety-degree angle and increased its speed. That’s how I connected it to him.”

Fernández: “Personally, it gave me an odd sensation when I first saw it. Later, as I closed in and began to ascertain its shape, I thought it might be a high speed jet, and if so, we would never catch up with it. But when I flew beneath it and saw it was perfectly static, I thought it must be a UFO because I couldn’t find a logical explanation for it. My impression was to feel a measure of disquiet for the unknown.” He adds: “I don’t think it was terrestrial. Given its size and shape, it’s practically impossible that an aircraft of that type could remain aloft as it did. Finally, we returned to base and were able to see that the UFO remained a long time before vanishing.”

Captain Luis Lira, who joined the pursuit of the triangular object, had this to say: “I made contact with the UFO on the ground. We were off-duty at the base when a warning from Carabineros came in, reporting that an unidentified object had flown from San Pedro de Atacama toward Calama. Logically, we didn’t believe it and thought, well, let’s see what happens. It’s a prank. Five minutes later, a subofficer informed us that we had an unidentified flying object directly over the base. An officer went out to check, and then said: “Hey, there really is a thing overhead.”

“We went out to look. All of us present were pilots. We looked at the runway and saw an object looking like a very bright balloon at an elevation we placed at between six and seven thousand feet. Finally, we decided to go up in a plane and see what was going on. Five minutes had elapsed from the moment that Carabineros gave notice from San Pedro de Atacama until the UFO was parked over our base.

“When we reached twenty two thousand feet, and could see it closer, we had the impression that it wasn’t a balloon. It was a triangle, very bright, like aluminum, reflecting the sun brightly. They triangle looked exactly as it had been described by the other pilots. At that moment we thought the UFO was turning toward us. I say we thought, because I don’t think the object really made a turn. We felt afraid. I even told my co-pilot: “hey, it’s turning toward us”, and he replied “it sure is.” We headed downward in a typical combat maneuver, but when we could tell that the vessel had returned to its original course, we climbed and reached 25,000 feet.”

When Captain Luis Lira was asked about the object’s size, he had this to say: “According to calculations one could make, at its altitude and dimensions, I daren’t say anything because its size had to extraordinary. I personally believe that here must be civilizations elsewhere.”

However, we have Commander Prat Corona’s opinion. Having his wingman’s aircraft in view along with the UFO, he was able to deduce that the flying triangle was 50 times larger than the F5-E fighter-bomber. In other words, the mysterious object must have been 300 meters long.

UFOs of this type are seldom seen around the world. More than an aircraft, they have been compared to floating cities. The people of Antofagasta had the extraordinary privilege of seeing such a unique specimen of extraterrestrial fauna twice.

[Translation © 2018, S. Corrales, IHU]

Monday, May 14, 2018

Contacteeism: New UFO Sighting Over Rosario de la Frontera



Source: PLANETA UFO and El Tribuno
Date: 5.10.2018
An Article by Ivana Castillo


Contacteeism: New UFO Sighting Over Rosario de la Frontera

"For 20 days now, there have been five extraterrestrial craft hovering in the vicinity of Rosario de la Frontera. These are beings of light that are saying hi to humanity and want some sort of contact with us." These were the worlds of José Exequiel Alvarez, fire chief of the Ciudad Termal Volunteer Fire Brigade, to El Tribuno.

We must bear in mind that last month's UFO sighting and the alleged contact experience between residents of Rosario de la Frontera and extraterrestrial beings made the news nationwide.

But on the 3rd of this month, the head of the Volunteer Fire Brigade managed to capture new images of unidentified flying objects, but this time from the 180 Viviendas district in the heart of the city's urban area.

"I can assure you that the craft that have been for some twenty days in Rosario de la Frontera are five in number. This new video, which I manage to record between 20:00 and 21:00 hours, shows their presence," Alvarez said to El Tribuno.

The firefighter, who has been a UFO buff since age 15, said his sister-in-law also witnessed the astonishing sighting over Rosario.

"I had left the house with my brother. First one could see a craft - it was a bright light. I took out my video camera, but it was hard to catch it. They would not allow themselves to be recorded. I managed to do so later with my cellphone. It was a lovely experience," said the public servant, unable to conceal his emotion.

Alvarez affirms that these are the Pleiadans, a collective of entities hailing from the seven stars known as the Pleiades. "They say they're our forebears, as they contributed their DNA to bring about the human species. That's why they're known as our seminal group. Their biology is like ours, although their technological and spiritual development outstrips that of Earth. They are beings of light," he said with conviction.



The startling video shows lights in the sky engaged in strange movements and turning their bright lights on and off. Alvarez narrated and documented the event and even claims that he was greeted. He gave a loud thank you, excitedly.

"The images were later analyzed in a computer and the craft can be seen perfectly. This video is a lot clearer that the other and it is an authoritative and irrefutable document," Alvarez noted.

"This shows that the Pleiadans are among us and want to make contact. This time I was able to communicate, they greeted me, and that's the reason you can see the changing lights," he added.

Alvarez said he has sought the counsel of renowned Argentinean ufologists as a result of these phenomena. "There is an opening of the mind in human beings, aside from those who dismiss it as a joke. This is real. This is happening," the firefighter stressed.

On the 13th of last month, Exequiel Alvarez claimed that craft had been seen along the Rosario River, manned by beings from another world known as the Pleiadans.

Strange lights can be seen in a video taken with his cellphone. They turned on and off and later mysteriously merged. First one, then another two vehicles appear. It is worth noting that nothing like it had been seen in the area. During the narration to the video, the volunteer fire chief described how the craft turned its red lights on and off, varying their intensity, color and trajectory.

"We made signals with a flashlight and they responded," he noted.

"They made contact with Alejandro Godoy, a local resident interested in ufology. He was told that there were two spacecraft in the vicinity of the Rosario River, telling him to go outside. He later informed me of what was going on," explained Alvarez. "They choose whom they wish to contact during these displays, regardless of the persons social, cultural or religious background. Godoy is very much in contact with the Pleiadans, who are two meters tall, blond and blue-eyed. They are beings of light." Alvarez's story seems almost incredible and drawn from some science fiction screenplay.

Several people expressed an interest in seeing the video provided by Alvarez as proof of his claims.

Some said that it was impossible to determine the height, proximity or perspective of the location of the objects with regard to the people exchanging opinions on the event. Others said the video looks more like a fake than anything else. The fact is that more than one resident of Ciudad Termal was startled by the repetition of the event.

VIDEO can be seen at: https://youtu.be/l1CTWdBnmTg

[Translation (c) 2018 S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to Guillermo Giménez, Planeta UFO]

Wednesday, May 09, 2018

Mexico: UFOs Recorded in the Skies over Coahuila and Monterrey



Source: PLANETA UFO and 'Venga la Alegría' (TV show, Canal Azteca, Mexico)
Date: 05.08.2018


Mexico: UFOs Recorded in the Skies over Coahuila and Monterrey

Researcher Yohanan Díaz presented these images on Tuesday in the 'Venga la Alegría' TV show.

The contributor to El Grafico also made known the material documented by Ross Cantú, considered a extraterrestrial contactee, on the TV program, broadcast on Canal Azetca.

On the 'Estan Entre Nosotros' (They Are Among Us) segment of the show, Mr. Díaz presented several photos showing an unidentified flying object as it flew over the Paila Highway toward Saltillo.
"This is not a drone. This is a truly disk-shaped object, whose lower section appears to be reflecting what is below."

He added that a total of fifteen photographs display the phenomenon, adding tha three days later, the same woman managed to capture two more objects in the sky over Monterrey.

These are objects lacking any mans of propulsion. They have neither turbines nor propellers, ailerons, nothing at all. They are spheres at low altitude, practically over Ross Cantú's home."

"At this time, the authorities have been unable to find an explanation for the phenomenon," said Yohanan Díaz, who is also a broadcaster for ABC Radio, 760 AM, for the "Expediente Punto Cero" program.

A video with the photographs and the full interview with Ross Cantú can be found at: https://youtu.be/L0rq8yrB2i8

[Translation (c) 2018 S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to Guillermo Giménez, Planeta UFO]

Mexico: UFO Sighting at Peña de Bernal



Source: PLANETA UFO (Argentina) and El Diario de Querétaro (México)
Date: 05.08.2018


Mexico: UFO Sighting at Peña de Bernal

Unidentified Flying Object (UFO) reports are emerging from Pueblo Mágico de Bernal as a consequence of the spring equinox. UFO experts have also detected them in different parts of Chile.

Luis Alfonso Lopez, president of the Asociación OVNI Querétaro, said in this regard that photographers and videographers present at the scene of the equinox in Bernal shared images that clearly showed a craft close to the crag.

He explained that there are two theories: that the La Peña crag is a portal through which spaceships can enter and travel to other parts of the universe, and that the crag has a strong electromagnetic charge used by spaceships to resupply before proceeding on their journeys.



"Recently, particularly during 21 March equinox, the presence of UFOs was at its greatest. It has since diminished and is currently very scarce. But let us share an image where we can see it was something wonderful...it is interesting to see how these flying saucers gravitate, that is to say, they move at such high speed that the human eye cannot see them...it's only when someone is taking a photo of La Peña that they become visible. A visual recording was made not long ago and the videographers found that there was a flying saucer in some of the clips."

Luis Alfonso López added that sightings of this sort are quite common during the summer solstice and spring equinox, as was the case in 2017, when there were some sightings in the Querétaro metropolitan area. Flying saucers were detected in the vicinity of the bullring, 5 de Febrero Avenue, the Antea shopping center and the detour to San Miguel de Allende.

He noted that following the Bernal sighting on 21 March, UFO experts in the Republic of Chile contacted OVNI QUERETARO to report sightings of saucers with similar characteristics. For this reason, he said, images shared by skywatchers all over the world are constantly being analyzed.

[Translation (c) 2018 S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to Guillermo Giménez, Planeta UFO]

Uruguay: Was It A UFO?



Source: PLANETA UFO and ElPais.com
Date: May 8 2018
An Article by Magdalena Martinez


Uruguay: Was it a UFO?

National authorities mobilize the Flying Object Report Reception & Investigation Committee (CRIDOVNI) after receiving several phone calls. The strange light turned out to be a commercial flight.


The live rebroadcast with which Channel 30 (Punta Cable) of Punta del Este, Uruguay interrupted its transmission displayed a light moving along very slowly, displaying a bizarre shape. A genuine unidentified flying object. The news made the rounds of social media and gave rise to the question: Have aliens reached Uruguay?



A few hours elapsed before the Flying Object Report Reception & Investigation Committee (CRIDOVNI) of the Uruguayan Air Force issued a communiqué on Twitter: it wasn't a UFO, but rather a commercial flight from Austral Airlines out of Buenos Aires heading toward the Laguna del Sauce airport. The equipment, an Embraer 190, had been picked up by radar and the control tower, following the same trajectory and schedule as the luminous flying object that had piqued public curiosity. The odd shape and intensity of the glow had been caused by the cloud cover.

"According to reports received yesterday pursuant to a UFO seen in a video transmitted live on "Canal 30 Punta Cable" we report that the UFO was identified as an Austral Airlines Embraer 190, flight number AUT2346."
-- Uruguay Air Force (@Fuerza_aerea_uy) 25 April 2018


CRIDOVNI mobilizes dozens of people whenever incidents of this sort come about, explains Lt. Col Gerardo Tajes of the Uruguayan Air Force. In this case, "while a team from Montevideo traveled to Punta del Este, Air Force Command checked its radars and also mobilized the operators of the Laguna del Sauce airport."

Detection of unidentified flying objects is not taken lightly in Uruguay: "The Air Force is the arm of the State whose mission is the vigilance of national airspace. Thus, we have full control; we know what comes in and goes out. It's very different from air traffic control handled by civilian aviation. With our radars, we are able to pick up craft that do not wish to be detected. In this way we can also generate a cooperation databank at the international level," explains Lt. Col. Tajes.

The military man admits that some cases are unsolved, but a rational answer is found for the phenomenon in most instances. A good example can be found in what occurred last year, when three Google helium balloons fell on Uruguayan soil. These devices, measuring 12 meters tall and 15 meters wide, are part of Google's Project Loon, aimed at providing rural areas with Internet service. The landed without warning, causing some shock in scantily populated areas of Uruguay.

Equipped with three fighters (Cessna A-37s from the 1960s), five transport craft, small planes and nine helicopters, the Uruguayan Air Force is modest, but falls into a military tradition that makes no concessions to territorial sovereignty. A country of 3.4 million people, surrounded by giants like Brazil and Argentina, has a clear doctrine: in the event of an invasion (terrestrial, extraterrestrial or otherwise), the first thing is to sound the alarm and then organize resistance in urban centers until allied forces arrive. Luckily, for over a century, Uruguay has not suffered any threats and its military activities have been aimed at defending both its neutrality and territorial integrity.

The Uruguayan Air Force reports on the operations of its helicopters and aircraft through its Twitter feed: transferring premature babies, senior citizens, the injured and accident victims from the remotest places in Uruguay to hospitals in Montevideo, as well as peacetime operations, since Uruguay is one of the main contributors (when measured by population) to UN missions.

[Translation (c) 2018 S. Corrales, IHU with thanks to Guillermo Giménez, Planeta UFO and Magdalena Martínez]