Arizona UFO or Military Flares?

Phoenix, Arizona was all abuzz on Tuesday night when an array of lights appeared in the night sky southwest of the city.  Telephone switchboards rang and e-mails flowed and many believed that the legendary 'Phoenix lights' had returned.  In the first event, nearly ten years ago, nine bright orbs were spotted and filmed on March 13, 1997.

During that night, several events filled the evening and several different sightings were reported all the way from Las Vegas to Tucson, Arizona.  The evenings UFO sightings concluded with what was finally dubbed 'the Phoenix Lights.' 

Arizona UFO or Military Flares?

So - did the lights return?  Well, some kind of bright orbs were spotted by thousands of witnesses.  But what exactly were they? 

Part of the reason that the Phoenix Lights drew such a buzz ten years ago was because the lights remained unexplained for so long.  It was literally months before it was claimed that the lights that were filmed were military flares dropped by the Maryland National Guard.  This time, the government was a bit quicker.  Federal Aviation Administration spokesman Ian Gregor says there is a simple answer to the mystery -- military flares.

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"From what we were told, about a half dozen F-16s out of Luke AFB were operating at the range," Gregor said. "They were practicing ground attacks and that involves the discharge of flares."

The FAA also reported Luke Air Force Base had six F-16's that were also out on the range practicing ground attacks. They were also using flares.