BEIJING, Jan. 24 (Xinhuanet) -- The night dozens of people in a small Texas town claim to have seen a huge UFO is also the night fighter jets were training in the area, U.S. military officials said Wednesday.

    Although officials at the Naval Air Station Reserve Base in Fort Worth initially said none of their planes were in the area of the UFO reports on Jan. 8, they changed their story Wednesday, saying that 10 F-16 fighter jets built by Lockheed Martin Corp. were training near Stephenville, about 70 miles (112 kilometers) southwest of Fort Worth, about the time of the sightings.

    But, some residents say the military's revelation actually reinforces their claims because several reported seeing at least two fighter jets chasing an object.

    "This supports our story that there was UFO activity in that area," said Kenneth Cherry, the Texas director of the Mutual UFO Network, which took more than 50 reports from locals at a meeting last weekend. "I find it curious that it took them two weeks to 'fess up. I think they're feeling the heat from the publicity."

    Several dozen people swear what they saw was larger, quieter, faster and lower to the ground than an airplane. They also said the object's lights changed configuration, unlike those of a plane.

    "I guarantee that what we saw was not a civilian aircraft," Steve Allen, a pilot and freight company owner, said Wednesday.

    Allen said that the fighter jets' training area in the Brownwood Military Operating Area, which includes Stephenville's Erath County, is not in the airspace where he saw the object. Also, Jan. 8 was not the only day sightings were reported.

    Since the reported sightings two weeks ago, the 17,000-resident town has had some fun with the international publicity. Some high-schoolers made T-shirts that read "Stephenville: the new Roswell" on the front and "They're here for the milk!" on the back. A picture features flying saucer beaming up a cow.

    (Agencies)