The Diamond Seen Only in Short-Wave Infrared

The Diamond Seen Only in Short-Wave Infrared

On 25 January 2024 an aircraft of the 33rd Special Operations Squadron, in transit over the eastern Mediterranean, watched an object for about two minutes, 05:09–05:11Z. Its mission report describes a “ROUND DIAMOND SHAPE WITH STRAIGHT, NON MANUEVERABLE "TAIL"” flying at “APPROX 434 KNOTS” that “ONLY APPEARED ON THE SWIR CAMERA”, the short-wave infrared. A recording of 1 min 6 s from the same mission, released separately, shows a bright body with a fainter upright element below it, visible in one camera and lost when the operator switches to visible light. The report records no range to the object, its grid references are blacked out down to the easting, and its own first and last coordinates do not fit the speed it gives.

Source document: Original public reference