Originally published May 24, 2023. Updated May 25, 2023 at the bottom of this article with new supporting information. More updates will be posted, if warranted.
On May 23, 2023, investigative journalists Jeremy Corbell and George Knapp released exclusive footage of a UFO, dubbed the “Mojave Triangle UAP”, hovering over the Marine Corps Air Ground Combat Center, Twentynine Palms – Camp Wilson. The event, which took place on April 20, 2021, between 8:20pm to 9:30pm PST, is labeled by Corbell as a “mass UFO sighting” and said to have over fifty eyewitnesses. The object, captured on iPhones and infrared, is described as a silent triangular-shaped craft, estimated to be between half the size of a football field and a three-bedroom, two-story house.
Following the sighting, Corbell stated there was a “significant air and ground response,” which he further claimed was a search and reconnaissance effort related to the UAP event, lasting approximately three hours. Given the location of this sighting within the restricted airspace of an active United States military installation, it is believed by Corbell that a significant amount of data, including radar, thermal, electro-optical, and signature intelligence, were accumulated.
However, later the same morning that the footage appeared online, The Black Vault pointed out that on the date of the sighting, April 20, 2021, the Weapons and Tactics Instructor (WTI) course 2-21 was well underway at the same location. This course involved the deployment of numerous aircraft and ground troops during a seven-week total training exercise.
After stating they spent “two years” investigating the case, the existence of this training exercise and the scheduled military activity on the base was entirely left out of the original reporting by Corbell and Knapp.
Taking into account the military activity on that date, The Black Vault suggests the sighting could be more likely linked to military training than an Unidentified Aerial Phenomenon (UAP). The Black Vault even noticed similarities between the “UFO” lights and the five aircraft flares visible in a Department of Defense-released video captured on the exact same date.
1/X – Here are new UFO videos of a "Triangle UAP" around Twentynine Palms, California, published by @g_knapp and @JeremyCorbell.
The information is in Jeremy's tweet below.
(cont) https://t.co/YuCed19Wvb
— John Greenewald, Jr. (@blackvaultcom) May 23, 2023
Both Corbell and Knapp did not respond to numerous attempts for comment posted on social media, nor have they responded to any request from The Black Vault in some time.
Noted “debunker” Mick West took what The Black Vault posted, and created a video outlining the near exact match between the video released by the DoD of flares, and the alleged UAP footage released by Corbell and Knapp.
Corbell was asked by Gadi Schwartz, host of NBC News Now’s “Stay Tuned,” about the training exercise and if the flares depicted in the video could be the same object. “The problem is the duration…” Corbell stated, making reference to his claim that the lights were visible, “…from ten, to some reports say more than twenty-five minutes.”
Despite the claim the lights were “unmoving” for ten to even more than twenty-five minutes, the evidence Corbell put forward consists of 5 videos of much smaller lengths of time. In fact, the video clips published by Corbell all appear to be around the same duration, with the longest one only stretching to thirty-six seconds and the shortest a mere sixteen seconds.
It is unclear whether the witnesses who took the videos all stopped near the exact same time interval, or if Corbell truncated the videos prior to posting. Corbell was asked by The Black Vault on social media, though as of the writing of this article, that post and the questions within remain unaddressed.
If your biggest rebuttal to the flare theory (despite a near identical match to a DoD video of flares) is they stayed aloft for 10+ minutes – why is the longest video you offered on your page only 36 seconds?
Did I miss anything? (Admittedly, I might have, so I'd love to be…
— John Greenewald, Jr. (@blackvaultcom) May 24, 2023
Corbell also adds that witnesses told him they saw the “body” of the “craft” further indicating it was a craft and not flares. Corbell points to a single “low light” photo taken from an iPhone as proof.
Despite what appears to be a “body” in the above photo, West chimed in with his own explanation countering the claim by Corbell.
The purple aura around the five purple lights (probably flares) gives an illusion of a solid object, but it's just the color bleed.ghosting you see elsewhere in the same image. It's around each light, and together combines to a vague triangle-shape.
But it's not. pic.twitter.com/FV1SFoHP3T
— Mick West (@MickWest) May 23, 2023
Out of the “fifty plus” witnesses that Corbell claimed were “confirmed,” only two spoke to Corbell via recorded audio. Both remained anonymous.
A statement was received by The Black Vault from Susan Gough, Department of Defense spokesperson, confirming military aviation activity in the Twentynine Palms airspace at the time of the sighting, coinciding with the Weapons and Tactics Instructor Course. She stated, “There is no record of communication with the base range control concerning a UAP sighting, nor of the allocation of any base resources to investigate a UAP sighting. AARO does not have a record of this alleged event and cannot verify the authenticity of the report”.
AARO, or The All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office, is a department within the U.S. Department of Defense that investigates and provides analysis on unidentified aerial phenomena (UAP), formerly known as UFOs. Its role is to assess and mitigate any potential threat these anomalies might pose to national security.
The Marine Corps / Twentynine Palms have not responded for comment.
While the “Mojave Triangle” sighting generated significant interest and intrigue, these findings above highlight the importance of thorough investigation and consideration of all available information when addressing claims of UAP sightings. As is often the case with such phenomena, further research and scrutiny may reveal explanations grounded in known human activity, as appears to be the case with the “Mojave Triangle”.
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Updated May 25, 2023
Two time-stamped original photos of the Twentynine Palms "UFO" over 19 seconds show a distinct descent from 2021:04:20 20:24:01 to 20:24:20.
Overlaid with much later image, shows a MASSIVE descent, movement, and position change.
Flares. pic.twitter.com/Zc3FJyinAg
— Mick West (@MickWest) May 25, 2023
Final Thoughts
Complete Statement from Pentagon
— Susan Gough, Department of Defense spokesperson
