NUFORC Sighting 179524

Occurred: 2023-10-29 05:30 Local
Reported: 2023-11-28 03:18 Pacific
Duration: 4 minutes
No of observers: 2

Location: Cowes, England, United Kingdom
Location details: Flightpath attached. First seen at 36 degrees, overflew us at 90 degrees.

Shape: Triangle
Color: Grey metal triangle with green and red lights
Estimated Size: 160 ft wingspan
Viewed From: Land
Direction from Viewer: SSW, then flew over us, then away to the NNE
Angle of Elevation: 90
Closest Distance: 1,200 ft
Estimated Speed: 100 mph
Characteristics: Lights on object

Large, quiet, triangular craft flew over 2 witnesses at 05:30 on Sunday morning, off the central southern coast of England

In the early morning of Sunday 29 October 2023 at a mid-point of 05:30 for 4 minutes (between 05:25 earliest to 05:35 latest), an unusual large triangular aircraft (Vulcan bomber sized but just a triangle - no fuselage or front cockpit) was seen clearly by two observers as it passed over West Cowes, Isle of Wight, UK. It was on a flight path from the south south-west (e.g.direction of Brighstone, IOW) going over West Cowes IOW where the High Street meets Birmingham Road and went away toward the north north-east (e.g. over The Solent sea channel and toward Netley, Southampton). Only the lights were seen when it first appeared but the whole solid triangle shape emerged as it approached us and passed overhead. Elevation when the lights alone were first seen in the clear, dark sky was ca. 36 degrees according to my inclinometer (below Venus and the Moon), which puts it at about 1,200 feet altitude, then it overpassed us and the solid grey triangle shape showed against the night sky and could be seen clearly. It had non-conventional (illegal by CAA standards for port and starboard illumination?) navigation lights: green constant strip-lights along both wingtips and a powerful red lamp in the central underbelly which occasionally blinked but not in a set pattern. No white navigation lights were seen. The green strip lights seemed inset into and along the front wingtip surface because I could see the grey horizontal top and bottom metal surface lines of the wing sandwiching above and below the green light layer. It flew unusually slowly, coasting as it came toward us in a straight line and the engine sounded so muted that nighttime background noise of street lights and very distant traffic hummed louder, so it was hard to pick its sound out of the background. It looked too large and heavy (60 tons plus?) to stay in the air at apparently near to stalling speed and in the absence of any powerful jet engine roar. The wingspan appeared to be about 160 feet. The triangular fuselage was dull grey but I could see some striations (not perfect linear marks) running from the back to front of the triangle underneath. This aircraft was headed in the direction of, but not going to land at, Southampton Airport as I contacted them and they said local bye-laws for operation do not allow them to receive aircraft before 06:30. I assume this was a new type of US military stealth aircraft but it was not a Northrop B2 Spirit as that design is smaller, lighter and has an incomplete triangle shape (gap at the rear). The Raider was announced recently but it looked even larger than that and the navigation lights on the craft we watched are in different positions to the more conventional lights on a Raider. Also, the rear side of the triangle we watched was almost filled in, not quite a straight edge but close, whereas the two known aircraft which I mentioned have an open gap or zig-zag rear. I tried to photograph it but my phone does not have a night setting so it came out dark. My daughter tried to take a film in the dark (attached - she sent it to me the next day, so that may change the nighttime film's timestamp to daytime?) as it began to go out of sight over the roof line of our house but all she recorded was the big red central lamp. The triangle did not contrast enough to show in the darkness on the film. I have no idea if this was an unannounced human-made stealth aircraft (is the TR3-B real?) or if it could possibly have been something more exotic and not man-made. Has anyone else reported seeing this please?

Posted 2023-12-09