Case file · Sighting
Espora air base videos
Videos and audio said to show soldiers firing at black triangles over an Argentine naval air base circulated online.
2023 CE · -38.73, -62.17 · status: claim
The account
Claims spread that on 5 September 2023 four triangular objects flew over Base Aeronaval Comandante Espora near Bahía Blanca, that personnel opened fire, and that a laser injured soldiers.
The sceptical view
The base denied any incident and said the circulating clips were edited to create fake news.
The researched reading
A viral ‘battle with UFOs’ that the base says never happened, with edited clips and a helicopter flight in the background.
| Explanation | Weight | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Undetermined | 55% | The share the reading had given to fabrication on doubt rather than evidence: the record does not settle it either way. |
| Something known, misidentified | 15% | The Navy said a Sea King helicopter was flying a scheduled night training flight; its lights could underlie any genuine sightings. |
| A hoax or fabrication | 15% | The Navy said no ammunition was used and that circulating clips were edited; the ‘soldiers firing at triangles’ audio-video has no verified source. |
| Perception, memory or mind | 6% | Social media amplified neighbourhood reports of loud noises into a ‘battle’. |
| Genuinely anomalous | 4% | There is no verified footage to analyse. |
| Secret human technology | 3% | There is no sign of a secret drone operation. |
| A known natural phenomenon | 1% | No natural explanation is relevant. |
| A poorly understood natural phenomenon | 1% | Nothing suggests an unusual natural process. |
Official position: The Argentine Navy denied any incident and called the clips edited fake news; it said a helicopter training flight was under way.
Connections in the atlas
- Aerolíneas Argentinas 674, Bariloche
- Miguel Tohmé's UFO photographs, Bahía Blanca
- Route 35 'railway car', Bahía Blanca