The “intercept, but don’t shoot” era

The “intercept, but don’t shoot” era

The historical thread here is stubbornly weird: in 1952, numerous objects were spotted visually and on radar over Washington DC during two consecutive weekends in July. Jet aircraft were scrambled, but no attempt to shoot down the interlopers was made. That echoes a 1948 Air Force order on “flying saucers” that was summarized as: “intercept, but don’t shoot.” The same fact pack points to Edward Ruppelt, Project Bluebook, and his 1956 book The Report On Unidentified Flying Objects, plus a mysterious scientist who allegedly predicted “the granddaddy of all UFO sightings.”

Gobble's Take: When the official playbook says “intercept, but don’t shoot,” you can feel the government trying to outrun its own shadow.
Source: Perplexity Search

Langley and the drone déjà vu

Late 2023 brought reports of unidentified drones over Langley Air Force Base in Hampton, Virginia. The fact pack says they were unauthorized, of unknown origin, and that the Air Force was not reported to have taken measures to bring them down. It also says similar incursions were later reported over military bases in the US and the UK, with the response described as nearly identical: perplexed military authorities and no effort to disable the aircraft.

Gobble's Take: Whatever these incidents are, the pattern is the real head-scratcher: lots of sightings, very little decisive action.
Source: Perplexity Search

In Case You Missed It

Yesterday's top stories:

• The Department of War keeps the UAP files coming
• Pentagon's first big release: look all you want, just don't overclaim
• FBI-observed UFO files hit the local news cycle