Seven Spy and Stealth Craft That Could be Mistaken for UFOs

Unidentified flying objects (UFOs) are generally any anomaly in the sky that isn't identifiable as a known object. UFOs are mainly associated with witness claims of visitation by extraterrestrial life (most notably, aliens). Similarly, government-related conspiracy theories abound. Unfortunately for witnesses and believers, UFOs are often later identified, and these Seven Spy and Stealth Craft That Could be Mistaken for UFOs help to unravel some of the fantasy and mystery surrounding the �strange� objects in our skies.

Unexplained aerial observations have been reported by the Chinese as early as 467 BCE (which we now know would have been Halley's Comet). More notable and recent cases include the Roswell UFO incident (1947), the Betty and Barney Hill abduction (1961), �Phoenix Lights� (1997) and the 2006 O'Hare International Airport UFO sighting. UFOs, flying saucers, alien spacecraft, and extraterrestrial vehicles... call them what you will, and be as skeptical as you want, but many individuals have reported witnessing various unexplained �crafts�.

Strangely, the CIA estimate that more than half of the reported UFOs in the 1950s and 1960s were American spy planes (mainly U-2 and SR-71 spy planes). They don't expand on what the other half may have been (but it is likely they were items such as balloons, noctilucent or nacreous clouds or other astronomical objects such as meteors or bright planets). But there are actually at least seven no longer secret, �secret� aircraft that have been mistaken for alien flying saucers. It isn't as crazy as it may sound, to the non-believer, however. Many of these spy and stealth planes have bizarre, bat-shaped wings, triangular silhouettes and other �otherworldly� designs.

In 2011 the U.S. Navy reached a milestone for X-47B, a futuristic unmanned stealth drone. The drone successfully retracted its landing gear and flew in cruise configuration for the first time. This stealth craft shares much in common with many reported �sightings� of alien spacecraft or other UFOs and it isn't difficult to see how witnesses may confuse this new technology for even more futuristic (or otherworldly) technology.

Lockheed Martin created the F117-A Nighthawk and its first test-flight was in 1981. The Nighthawk was a stealth fighter and was deployed for over 25 years. With its midair fueling and bat-like shape, it was the perfect candidate for triangular UFO sightings. Similarly, Lockheed Martin's U-2 spy plane, which was test-flown in 1955 and was one of the first classified planes to be flown from the Air Force's secret test facility at Area 51 (at Groom Lake, Nevada) and was the perfect candidate for a UFO sighting with its long, glider-like wings and silver color. It would have been notable to observers on the ground.

All of the seven spy and stealth craft outlined in this article share striking resemblance to claims of UFO sightings. Whether it is a coincidence or a government conspiracy, perhaps we will never know... but, for now, these are the crafts that COULD be mistaken for alien UFOs.