Flashback: SMiles’ 2002 Drone Sighting

With 2024 rounding out to likely be called “The Year of the Drone” (due to the widely reported drone incursions at American military bases worldwide and the civilian flap occurring over New Jersey and other regions) it seems appropriate to post this flashback regarding my apparent drone sighting in 2002. Meanwhile, I’ll be reporting on the drone issue tonight for the Anomaly Archives‘ weekly “Anomaly-NOW!“ (YouTube Link) news and media roundup show (show archives here).

The following appeared as the introduction to my editorial for issue #2 of the Austin Para Times news magazine:

Audio version of the editorial narrated on the Dec. 18th, 2024 edition of Anomaly-NOW!

Letter From The Editor – FLASH – APT Editor Abducted by Aliens!?!

At 11:30pm CST, Monday, April 8th, 2002, APT staff received an urgent email message from our humble editor. He’s not been seen or heard from since…

“I’ve just seen a UFO! I had just been talking to someone about not spending enough time outdoors so I decided to go outside. As I was stepping off my front porch my attention was drawn to the new police copter circling in the sky apparently over towards Riverside and Congress [Have you noticed the increased helicopter activity over Austin? Have you seen that police chopper harassing folks with its searchlight? I have!].

So I’m outside standing on my front walkway looking up at the stars thinking about the “UFO” sightings I have had. From the silvery discs I saw moving in a straight line with black pearl-on-a-string contrails at 30,000 feet over the Sierra Nevadas (probably military craft from Area 51) to the green glowing ball-of-light we witnessed zig-zagging above me and my friends’ campsite in Gila, New Mexico (turned out to be a hoax perpetrated by one of my campsite friends). I’ve never seen anything “alien” to my understanding. So I’m looking up at the stars and appreciating the night air when, swiftly and silently an object passes above me moving in a straight line from East to West. It was smaller than a dime held at arm’s length but bigger than the stars behind it. It had no lights and appeared to be slightly reflecting the lights of the city. It seemed to have a main body and two “wings” on either side. It was either a large bird or … an RPV / UAV (Remotely Piloted Vehicle / Unmanned Aerial Vehicle) like the Global Hawk or Predator. As I watched the object head West, I watched it turn sharply and head North (as if it were following either Lamar Blvd or MOPAC). I lost the object behind some trees as it had become harder and harder to discern against the bright glow of downtown. As I stood there thinking about going inside and writing this message … thinking that it COULD have been a bird … Suddenly a flock of low-flying birds startled me! They were in a V formation moving from South West to North East. It was no bird I had just seen. I had just discovered that …

Austin is now under constant aerial surveillance! There is a Predator lurking in the skies of Austin. Whether it’s the harassing Police Copter or the Sinister Military RPV … the skies have eyes. There are news reports indicating that over half of all military planes will soon be remotely piloted. I keep flashing back to The Terminator and other dark future SciFi AI holocaust films…

Skynet is nearly here. The war has started. We are the enemy. Prepare yourselves!”

– SMiles Lewis

[Image top: Emelie/Adobe Stock, Vector Tradition/Adobe Stock]

Weather archives for that date:

https://www.wunderground.com/history/daily/us/tx/austin/KAUS/date/2002-4-8