Report of sighting in Bromley on 8th or 9th June 2024

The witness saw a huge, matt black aircraft that was triangular with rounded edges and had a flat undercarriage. The craft had three large black indented circles in the corners and hovered silently.

The sighting took place on either the 8th or 9th June 2024 at around 2pm.  The weather in the area on both days at that time was recorded as scattered or passing clouds with a light breeze passing from West to East.  The witness recalls that the weather at the exact time of the sighting was very clear with a blue sky. 

The sighting took place over a residential area with a school directly to the West and a large park directly to the East.  Beyond the school is a further residential area with a railway line passing North/South. Beyond the park is a large area of farmland.

RAF Biggin Hill is located to the South-West of the location.  The site no longer has any military activity and is home to various private aviation companies, some of which offer private lessons or pleasure flights.  None of the aircraft referred to in any literature resemble the description provided by the witness.

Rochester Airport is located to the East of the location.  The site does not have any current military presence but is home to a large aerospace defence company.  Work carried out at this site is often classified but does not appear to involve the flying of aircraft.

The location is not on a flight path and is in a noise sensitive area, to be avoided by low flying aircraft.

There was one additional witness to the event, but they cannot be contacted.  The witness confirms that it was the second person who initially spotted the object.

There is a park close to the location and on a warm weekend afternoon would probably have been busy.  It is unlikely that the object could have been something used for leisure at the park (drones, kites) as they do not match the description provided or the size indicated by the witness.

There is no record of any special events happening in the area on the weekend of the sighting and nothing unusual reported at the nearby park.  There were no airshows in the region.

A search has not identified any other reports of similar sightings in the area at the time reported.

Possible Aircraft

The witness understands aircraft and refers to the Avro Vulcan.  They note that the object seen was significantly larger that the Vulcan which they are aware has the dimensions of Length = 29.58 m, Wingspan = 30.3 m, Wing area = 330.2 m2.

There are other aircraft that have a roughly triangular shape and are larger than an Avro Vulcan.  These include the B2 Spirit which has a wingspan of around 52m but is shorter, with a length of only 21m.  There are known to be several B2s in the UK at the time of the sighting.

The B21 Raider is starting to be rolled out with testing being carried out.  The B21 is expected to have a wingspan of more than 40m (accurate dimensions do not appear to have been released yet).  There is no evidence that any are held in the UK at the time of the sighting.

There are also unmanned aircraft, such as the RQ-170, but these are smaller than the object seen.

Some aircraft can hover effectively (such as the F35 which have vertical take-off and landing), but the B2 and B21 do not have vertical take-off and landing capabilities.

The shape of the aircraft detailed above do not accurately match the description or sketch drawn by the witness.  The object reported was a true triangular shape with no obvious protrusions and rounded points.  The description and sketch provided are an almost identical match to reports of possible experimental aircraft (sometimes referred to as Aurora, Black Triangle and the TR3 Black Manta).  There is no official evidence that these aircraft exist but reference to sightings of them can be found in aviation and military aircraft articles.  Whether these aircraft exist or not, there will certainly be experimental aircraft under development around the world which could be a close match to the object reported.

The witness contacted the RAF following the sighting and received a response that they had seen a JunoHT1 helicopter on a low-flying training mission from RAF Shawbury in Shrewsbury.  The witness is certain that the object was not a helicopter due to its shape, size and lack of sound. 

The total range of a JunoHT1 is 609km.  It is 245km in a direct line from Shrewsbury to the sighting location, a journey that would have taken several hours each way in the helicopter.  This puts the possible journey at the limits of what could be carried out without refuelling, particularly on a training mission.

Conclusion

From the description provided, the object could be an experimental aircraft of some sort.  It does not fit the description of any aircraft in the public awareness, but it is possible that it was an experimental craft or drone.   There are no obvious sources of experimental craft in the local area and so it would have travelled to the location from further afield.

It would be unusual for such an aircraft to be tested so close to a residential area but the response to the witness from the MOD does indicate that they routinely carry out training exercises at low altitudes or closer to residential areas.

It is unlikely to be the helicopter as stated in the official response.

It is not possible to identify the object with the details available.  As more information is released in the future, or further reports are received, it may be possible to identify the object later.

Report by Carolyn Bruce, BUFORA Accredited Investigator