Sighting in Huriel, December 10, 2025

At about 3:05 a.m., a witness at home saw a luminous phenomenon for around twenty seconds. The setting was rural, with no light pollution, a completely overcast sky and intermittent rain. Earlier, the witness had noticed several low-altitude passes by military aircraft.

They described a very intense white light together with a red light, moving slowly and silently and appearing to twinkle. The object seemed close, with an apparent size like that of a small vehicle or a supermarket trolley. The case has medium consistency, since it rests on a single account with no images.

The investigation quickly established that the sighting coincided with the national military exercise "Poker", which involved many French Air and Space Force aircraft, including Rafale and Mirage 2000 fighters and A330 MRTT tankers. Flight-tracking data and feedback from CAPCODA confirm that military aircraft were in the area at the time. The description matches the night-time lights of a distant military aircraft: white landing lights and red anti-collision lights, with the fuselage invisible in the dark. Damp, cloudy air produced optical turbulence and refraction, accounting for the irregular twinkling and the shifting halo. The impression of closeness and the misjudged size and speed came from the strong glare of the headlights in total darkness. At roughly 5° above the horizon, the object lined up with landmarks such as trees, which reinforced the illusion. The case was classified B: probably a military aircraft, most likely an A330 MRTT tanker taking part in the exercise.