Today at 0800, the people of San Francisco
woke up to an unusual sight, an aircraft that
looked like a F-16 with Pakistani insignia on
it’s tail was soaring through the skies of San
Francisco. The United States Air Force from
the Fresno Air National Guard Base
responded immediately by dispatching
F-15Cs to intercept the JF-17. The episode
lasted about ten minutes over the city’s
skies and ended up when JF-17 was
escorted by F-15Cs back to the USAF base.
The incident baffled the United States Air
Force on how a Pakistani Air Force JF-17, an
aircraft with limited range ended up on
United States shores. North American
Aerospace Defense Command also known as
NORAD failed to detect the aircraft entering
US airspace giving birth to speculations that
Pakistan finally managed to develop stealth
version of JF-17 called JF-17X .
Sources close to Defence Aviation said that
the United States Air Force is yet to
determine the point of origin of the JF-17.
And NORAD refused to comment on the lapse
in the security measures. Pakistan Air Force
has not replied to any of our emails, I think
they are ignoring Defence Aviation
completely.
The incident eerily reminds us of Battle of
Los Angeles also known as The Great Los
Angeles Air Raid, is the name given by
contemporary sources to the rumored enemy
attack and subsequent anti-aircraft artillery
barrage which took place from late 24
February to early 25 February 1942 over Los
Angeles, California. Initially, the target of the
aerial barrage was thought to be an attacking
force from Japan, but speaking at a press
conference shortly afterward, Secretary of the
Navy Frank Knox called the incident a “false
alarm.” Newspapers of the time published a
number of reports and speculations of a
cover-up.
We are still waiting for more information to
be released by the United States Air Force
and NORAD. There are many questions to be
answered in this incident. Till then tell us if
anyone successfully pulled up a PRANK on
you today on April Fool’s day in the
comment section below.