Mystery Jets Over Jefferson County? Relax — It’s Just Canada and America Playing Nice in the Sky
JEFFERSON COUNTY, NY — Some Northern New Yorkers noticed unusual aircraft activity over Jefferson and Lewis counties Thursday, including looping flight paths and military-style jets circling over rural areas south of Watertown. Naturally, social media immediately went into full “Red Dawn meets UFO invasion” mode.
In reality? It appears to have been a routine military training exercise involving Top Aces, a Canadian-owned tactical aviation company that provides “aggressor” aircraft training for the United States and Canadian militaries.
The aircraft spotted on Flightradar24 carried the callsign “CHETA61” and originated out of Ottawa before conducting maneuver patterns over the Tug Hill region and returning back to Canada.
The aircraft itself was identified as an Alpha Jet — a fast military trainer jet often used to simulate enemy aircraft during combat exercises, radar tracking drills, and electronic warfare training.
And before anyone starts building a bunker in Copenhagen or declaring martial law at the Stewart’s Shops coffee counter, officials and aviation experts would tell you this type of training is extremely common in border regions near military installations like Fort Drum.
In fact, if anything, it’s a reminder that despite all the political drama people see online, the United States and Canada still maintain extremely close military coordination and defense cooperation. NORAD, joint exercises, shared air defense responsibilities, and cross-border training have been part of North American security for decades.
Translation: we are still very much in cahoots with Canada.
The looping patterns seen over Lewis County are typically associated with simulated combat maneuvers, holding patterns, or radar exercises — not anything threatening. Military aircraft performing training often stay in designated airspace and repeatedly circle while conducting mock engagements.
Still, for locals who looked up and saw fighter-style jets carving giant crop circles over the North Country skies, it definitely added a little excitement to an otherwise normal Thursday afternoon.
Only in Northern New York can you go from hearing birds chirping over the Tug Hill to suddenly wondering if Top Gun 3 is being filmed above Lowville.
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