Date: January, 2016.

Place: Rajasthan, India.

It is well known that the sky of the state of Rajasthan is under strict surveillance by Indian Air Force (IAF), due to one reason: it shares a long border with India's old enemy: Pakistan. Therefore, any suspicious flying object in this place may be considered as a potential threat and, in consequence, could be intercepted.

This was the case of the UFO that was allegedly shot down by Indian fighter jets and helicopters in January. According to a statement of the IAF, "on January 26, an IAF radar had picked up an unidentified flying object moving easterly in Jaisalmer area". After this, two Sukhoi 30 jets and two Mi-17 helicopters were sent to intercept the target, which was at 25,000 feet high (7620 metres). The authorities declared that the object was a 3 metre-diameter aerostat balloon, which "was shot down within 15 minutes of it being detected and a total of 97 rounds were fired from the aircraft". However, the investigations are still open, due to the relevance of the situation and the delicate political relationship with neighbour Pakistan.

There are two things that should be noticed: why were 97 rounds of fire required to take down a fragile aerostat balloon? And, why one of the most powerful Asian air forces would care enough about an object like this to send four aircraft to chase it? The case is still unsolved. 

For further information:

http://www.ufosightingsdaily.com/2016/01/ufo-shot-down-by-rajasthan-military.html 

UFO Shot Down By Rajasthan Military Jets, Jan 26, 2016, Videos, UFO Sighting News.

Date of sighting: January 26, 2016.

Location of sighting: Barmer, Rajasthan. 

News source: http://www.dnaindia.com/india/report-iaf-sukhoi-jets-shoot-down-suspected-pakistani-balloon-over-jaisalmer-after-security-alert-2170972

Its not everyday a UFO gets shot down. This one is thought to be a balloon with a bomb tied to it. It looks like a giant cloud orb to me. Sometimes if they are struck by lightning, they can malfunction and fall to the earth. This one...disintegrated except for two sharp finger size metal objects. Its was a enough of a threat that they called out fighter jets to shoot it down. At 9 feet in diameter (3 meters) it would be hard not to see. It took 97 shots and no harmful payload was found. Why would they care about a balloon? And it did show up on radar. If balloons were a threat, Los Angeles, CA would have a squadron of fighters jets at war in the sky over Disneyland. Scott C. Waringwww.ufosightingsdaily.com 

News states:

The suspicious object flying over Jaisalmer in Rajasthan on Tuesday, that led to Indian Air Force (IAF) fighter jets and helicopters scramble for it and shoot it down, turned out to be a helium-filled balloon with 'Happy Birthday' written on it. IAF said in a statement on Wednesday that "On 26 Jan, an IAF radar had picked up an unidentified flying object moving easterly in Jaisalmer area. 

A fighter jet intercepted the object which was found to be a balloon of about 3-metre diameter. Due to heightened security alert, the balloon was shot down as it would have been carrying unknown payload." "However, on analysis of the debris, it was established that there was no dangerous payload," the IAF release said further. Reliable sources in IAF added that the object was detected by radars at 25,000 feet. At first, two Mi-17 choppers were launched to engage the object but since it was flying at a level higher than the helicopters could go, two Sukhoi-30 jets flew from Jodhpur airbase to get it. 

"The balloon was shot down within 15 minutes of it being detected and a total of 97 rounds were fired from the aircraft," said a source. Even as sources said that the balloon came from across the India-Pakistan border, defence minister Manohar Parrikar told reporters here, "Our radars picked up a shiny flying object entering our air space. A fighter jet was quickly scrambled which intercepted it and shot it down". He, however, refused to elaborate further. The IAF said that it is investigating reports of cracks in some houses at Gugdi town in the neighboring Barmer district even as residents claimed it happened due to "bombs" that were dropped from fighters.