The Indian Air Force (IAF) took swift action in response to reports of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) near Imphal airport on Sunday. The sighting occurred around 2:30 p.m., leading to a temporary disruption of commercial flights. In response, the IAF scrambled Rafale fighter jets from a nearby airbase to investigate the mysterious objects. Equipped with advanced sensors, the Rafale aircraft conducted low-level flights over the area to locate the UFOs. However, the initial search and subsequent efforts by another Rafale fighter yielded no sightings.
Videos capturing the UFOs near Imphal airport prompted authorities to launch an inquiry into the incident. While the Eastern Command of the Indian Air Force activated its air defence response mechanism, specific details of the actions taken were not disclosed. Imphal airport was eventually cleared for normal flight operations after the investigation.
Eastern Command, in a post on ‘X’ (formerly Twitter), said, “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. The Rafale fighters recently 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.