Fighters F-16 who were on alert at March Air Force Base, in Riverside, California, were called in the early hours of Sunday following reports of unidentified flying objects (UFOs) over the states of Nevada and California (USA).
The incident began around 4:30 a.m. Sunday morning local time, according to flight tracking data and audio from Air Traffic Control (ATC).
Os F-16with call signs SURF 31 e SURF 32were triggered after an object was tracked over the Reno, Nevada area. The object was later spotted over northern California and then a second object was observed in that region.
According to the website’s report The War Zoneone of the objects left controllers at the Oakland Center, the FAA’s regional air traffic control center, so intrigued that they contacted aircraft flying over Northern California to get visual confirmation of what was being observed.
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After the operation, it was determined that the objects were, in fact, weather balloons rather than UFOs, North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD) officials told The War Zone on Sunday night.
UFOs, now known as unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), are often confused with drones and balloons. Still, many in the UFO community argue that balloons have become a common explanation to dissuade theories about strange phenomena found in the sky.
The F-16s were tasked twice this morning.
They first arrived on station ~1330Z then started their RTB ~1600Z. While on final approach at March ARB, the F-16s and KC-135 were once again tasked towards NorCal due to further reports of an unidentified object. They arrived on… pic.twitter.com/7PXH9mjWie
— Aircraft Spots (@AircraftSpots) February 15, 2026
Photo and video: Staff Sgt. Gerald Willis / X @AircraftSpots. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
