IAF scrambles Rafale fighters to search for UFO near Imphal airport

Speaking to ANI, the defense sources said, “Soon after information about the UFO near the Imphal airport was received, a Rafale fighter aircraft from a nearby airbase was scrambled to go and search for the UFO.”

They further said the aircraft equipped with advanced sensors carried out low-level flying over the suspected area to look for the UFO but it did not find anything there. 

“After the first aircraft returned, one more Rafale fighter was sent for the search but the UFO was not seen around the area. The agencies concerned are trying to find out the details of the UFO as there are videos of the UFO over the Imphal airport,” they added as quoted by ANI. 

Hours after the Imphal airport was cleared for flying, the Shillong-headquartered Eastern Command of the Indian Air Force stated that it had activated its Air Defence response mechanism without giving any specific details of the steps taken by it.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter), Eastern Command wrote, “IAF activated its Air Defence response mechanism based on visual inputs from Imphal airport. The small object was not seen thereafter.”

The Rafale fighters of the Indian Air Force are deployed at the Hashimara air base in West Bengal and keep flying from different air bases in the eastern sector along the China border. Recently, they also took part in the mega Air Force exercise Poorvi Akash along the China border where all major assets of the force participated along with the troops of the Army. 

(With ANI inputs)

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Updated: 20 Nov 2023, 02:14 PM IST