Espora naval air base — the “battle” that the Navy denied
After 9 p.m. on September 5, 2023, residents near the Comandante Espora naval air base outside Bahía Blanca posted videos and called 911 about what they took for gunfire and explosions from the base, with a helicopter overhead. A private group, CEFORA, then claimed that four black triangular objects had flown over and landed at parts of the base, that personnel had fired on them, and that a laser from one had injured two or three soldiers; the story spread with memes across Argentina. Official sources at the base said the videos and audio were edited and that “the noises and images do not correspond to the place”, that there had been no exercise or shooting and nobody had seen anything, and that a helicopter had flown a scheduled routine patrol on its usual route. The police confirmed the calls, but no injury, damage or other record of an engagement ever appeared.
Explanation
Base sources said the circulating videos and audio were edited and did not come from the base, that no exercise or shooting took place and that staff saw nothing; the only activity was a helicopter on a scheduled routine patrol. The claims of triangular craft and a laser that wounded soldiers came from a private UFO group and were never supported by any record.
What was seen
Shape: Claimed: four black triangles
Witnesses: Neighbours who called the police about bangs; a private UFO group’s unnamed sources
Duration: An evening
Sources
- C5N — the official explanation of the shots and explosions in Bahía Blanca
- Minuto Uno — UFOs in Bahía Blanca: the official explanation
- Wikipedia — UFO sightings in Argentina (2023)
Browse
- Argentina
- 2020s
- Explained
- Military encounters
- Many independent witnesses
- Video footage
- Audio recordings or radio transcripts
- Triangles and V shapes