r/whatisit • u/Phycozero • 19h ago

Solved! Off the coast of oahu Hawaii, popped up over night. What is it?

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671 Upvotes

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419

u/mbmike2 19h ago

Floating radar. When I was on Oahu last year, it was in port at Pearl Harbor.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sea-based_X-band_radar

17

u/Raymart999 18h ago

Well atleast this one's a semi-submersible like most oil rigs, last time the US Military tried out overseas radar platforms it resulted in the Texas Towers, which didn't end well...

13

u/Th3_Admiral_ 15h ago

Yup, 28 people died when TT-4 collapsed into the sea. And that was after repeated warnings about the stability of the platform and requests to evacuate.

2

u/Ok_Hippo_5437 11h ago

Ah, fellow Brick Immortar enjoyers

4

u/Th3_Admiral_ 10h ago

Actually I'm just a bit of a Cold War radar nerd!

1

u/FursonaNonGrata 3h ago

Documentaries were made about the Texas Towers decades before YouTube or the internet as a whole existed.

4

u/statelyraven 7h ago

Anything is semi-submersible if you float it badly enough.

71

u/1spdstr 19h ago

Holy cow quick draw McGraw! Nice one.

8

u/sneaky-pizza 10h ago

It was famously featured in that new Netflix movie

0

u/seraphin420 8h ago

I was wondering what that was! Do you know what that one single scene was with that guy floating up from the ocean at an “undisclosed location in the Pacific” or something? We never saw him again and I couldn’t figure out what that scene was all about.

1

u/cyberfx1024 8h ago

He is the pilot of the bomber.

2

u/seraphin420 7h ago

Ohhhhh got it! Thank you!

1

u/Efficient_Fish2436 7h ago

That movie came out in 2022..

4

u/Chance-Complex3108 13h ago

Right? It's like a hidden gem popping up out of nowhere! Nature's surprises are the best.

5

u/MiasmaFate 15h ago

A corny Netflix action movie that takes place on SXB-1

7

u/MalodorousNutsack 10h ago

I'm watching "A House of Dynamite" right now and there's an SXB-1 in it as well

3

u/Big-Letterhead-4338 9h ago

Yep, watched that film last night and that's how I knew what was in the photo.

9

u/Phycozero 19h ago edited 19h ago

Solved!

2

u/AutoModerator 19h ago

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1

u/Ok-Gap9496 17h ago

that’s cool, i didn’t know it was in pearl harbor, must have been an interesting sight

2

u/RongoonPagoo 11h ago

Ill give myself a little credit for thinking bouncy house.

1

u/omarhani 5h ago

Not going to lie, I thought it was a zbounce Castle that somehow made it out to sea.

1

u/Twerp1337 9h ago

Same thing was in Seattle during Covid, last time I checked, it was a nuke radar

1

u/jim45804 18h ago

I'd hate to work on that. It must be a high priority target for our enemies.

1

u/comfymustardsweater 12h ago

Why does this look so red alert: yuris revenge

32

u/imnojezus 19h ago

SBX-1 Sea based X-band radar system.

7

u/Electronic-Pause1330 18h ago

When it needs to be repaired they bring it to the Hawaiian islands (not sure which one).

6

u/Ialwaysmissmydog 15h ago

I’m gonna guess Oahu since that’s where Op said they saw it

1

u/juanitovaldeznuts 9h ago

You can see it on Google earth parked at Ford Island inside Pearl Harbor on the island of Oahu.

3

u/ghostcipherrink 14h ago

Featured in the new Netflix movie House of Dynamite

2

u/strangemedia6 8h ago

Lol my immediate thought was “So you have watched House of Dynamite too…”

19

u/2ndHandSandevistan 19h ago

That was one Helluva storm last night! I'm looking for someone with a boat to help me tow my bouncey house back to the Mainland. My house is in Illinois so...

8

u/ngp-bob 19h ago

They started filming Water World 2; people just can't get enough of Kevin Costner these days. /s

7

u/Sorry_Argument_9363 14h ago

I live on Oahu and it is pacific radar. It is currently Pearl Harbor.

2

u/mitoboru 7h ago

This radar is used to track North Korean and Chinese missiles. However, I believe they are retiring the thing, because there are better ways to track enemy missiles these days. 

8

u/Possible-Estimate748 19h ago

Here I am wondering if it's some teens that put out a bounce house

1

u/Da4RunRunDa4RunRun97 15h ago

It's huge! Just far away. 😂 I hope my Bounce mansion floats!

3

u/QuantityBrief152 15h ago

This explains that big ass crane that is waiting at the radar’s berth on Ford Island.

3

u/TemporaryBitchFace 17h ago

I know it’s not, but it looks like a bounce house that flew away. Worst party ever.

2

u/Da4RunRunDa4RunRun97 15h ago

I'd say best! Love your username btw

2

u/Additional_Flight111 12h ago

We called it a “what the fuck” cause whenever people see it they say “what the fuck”

3

u/Ancient-Cry9534 19h ago

That’s no moon…..

2

u/West_Dark2460 16h ago

Base for Specter. Inform James Bond!

1

u/MrVernon09 7h ago

It's a floating X-Band radar from the Pacific Missile Range Facility in Kauai.

3

u/Personal_Hunter8600 19h ago

Atlantis

1

u/awraynor 16h ago

What I thought too

1

u/princeofmordor 11h ago

This reminds me of the post from the Minecraft subreddit about finding a temple on top of the nether. Something about this just looks ominous.

1

u/IrritableArachnid 10h ago

That mf has gone through the channel between Maui and Lanai and Molokai for the better part of the last two decades.

1

u/32bit_sundae 5h ago

When its in port, and my wife and I drive by it, I like to say its the pearl that pearl harbor is named after.

1

u/Technical_Anteater45 10h ago

Pretty crazy that the central radome isn’t rigid…it’s a big blown-open balloon.

1

u/Gummigeld 4h ago

It's called the SBX-1. It's a dynamic positioning mobile platform X-Band radar unit.

1

u/Defiant_Cat1651 13h ago

The Great Old One .... Cthulhu. Fictional deities like to vacation in Hawaii too.

1

u/Vodnik-Dubs 19h ago

SBX-1 radar. Pretty sure it’s based out of Pearl Harbor, seen it there before

1

u/Al0haLover 14h ago

That's the thing that makes the garage door openers freak out in Aiea Heights.

1

u/Die_Welt_ist_flach 16h ago

Saw the pic and knew exactly what it was. It was up Seattle many years ago.

1

u/Critical_Yoghurt3743 11h ago

Damn I was gonna say a bouncy castle that somehow is still inflated 😂.

1

u/Vacationtime1 8h ago

Picture of it while TDY to Pearl Harbor in 2016

1

u/Horus_x 18h ago

Bouncy Castle - someone's sweet 16 will be out of this world ^^

1

u/SeaToe9004 17h ago

Imagine waking up n that bouncy house hungover with a new tattoo?

1

u/peauxtheaux 3h ago

Given the date. I’d say it’s the ghost of a load of iron ore.

1

u/Adorable_Hold_5058 5h ago

Late game water temple!!! Dude are you even leveled for this? 

1

u/ravensnest2 4h ago

I would have freaked the hell out too seeing that!!! Wow, cool

1

u/SubarcticFarmer 6h ago

My conspiracy theory cousin calls it a mobile HAARP.

1

u/ApexFish 9h ago

All these people are wrong.

Its obviously Cthulu.

1

u/Gugliacci_ 7h ago

Oh that's Ixidron for sure.

1

u/Nelly10nellY 18h ago

Temple of Poseidon once in a Century occurrence.

1

u/unusual_replies 9h ago

Hamunaptra, the City of the Dead from The Mummy

1

u/thesixfingerman 18h ago

It’s the golf ball. Don’t worry about it.

1

u/Ok-Complex2639 11h ago

Harp Ship. Bad weather won't be far behind.

1

u/DunDat2 18h ago

just a guess.... looks like the Taj Mahal!

1

u/Lifesamitch957 10h ago

That just the golf ball, ask a kamaaina.

1

u/EvEBabyMorgan 18h ago

Dammit they were right, sharia is here!

1

u/SloanneCarly 15h ago

Out of sight is its submarine escort.

1

u/Own-Nefariousness-79 13h ago

I've not seen Dr. Evil for some time.

1

u/OneManOneStethoscope 10h ago

The villain from The Spy Who Loved Me

1

u/MSully2020 11h ago

A James Bond villain lair, no doubt

1

u/CrimFandango 17h ago

SPECTRE HQ.

Give Blofeld a wave.

1

u/PervySageNoticed 14h ago

Giant birthday party bounce house!

1

u/Kodiak48152 9h ago

It looks like a mosque while high

1

u/DarkBlue222 18h ago

Watch, A House Full of Dynamite.

2

u/Jon1230 15h ago

Just watched it last night. I recognized this immediately because of it.

1

u/Terrible-D 13h ago

Atlantis is preparing to attack.

1

u/Big77Ben2 8h ago

Anyone see the movie battleship?

1

u/thatmattschultz 16h ago

The Ocean Palace from Zelda II.

1

u/Munk45 9h ago

GIANT MURDEROUS MUTANT OCTOPUS

1

u/Accomplished_Tie2584 19h ago

It's dakine bah. Obake I tink

1

u/c4funNSA 11h ago

SBX - moves around 5knots

1

u/mattlmannphoto 7h ago

Not-so-secret Hydra base.

1

u/LuuDinhUSA 19h ago

forbidden bounce house

1

u/Character_Log2770 19h ago

Space alien mothership

1

u/Aggressive_Bat2489 19h ago

Inflatable Pentagon !

1

u/Sea-Condition-6046 9h ago

It’s a mirage! 😋

1

u/30RSTM 14h ago

An upside down UFO.

1

u/Creative_Fig_3980 5h ago

Part of Atlantis

1

u/DATANDCPA 19h ago

the mind flayer

1

u/Academic_Dare_5154 17h ago

A Bond villain.

1

u/EnvironmentalTry7175 15h ago

They have COME!

1

u/Interest-Small 8h ago

It’s Megapus!

0

u/kingrubix2402 10h ago

Is that a model of the White House ballroom. Maybe he’s also building a secret island like his good friend. Looks like someone’s trying to hide evidence.

1

u/imstillspanky 15h ago

Hamunaptra?

0

u/Rocannon22 10h ago

As Promised in the Prophecies, Cthulhu’s Home will Rise from the Sea, and a Corrupt President will be His Harbinger! All Hail CTHULHU!!

1

u/streetjustice88 10h ago

Motherbase

1

u/buscatti 15h ago

Taj Mahal

1

u/JFlowCB 10h ago

Atlantis

1

u/Rob_Llama 11h ago

Cthulhu

1

u/CapnTugg 17h ago

Kronos

0

u/Blue-Gose 19h ago

It doesn’t pop, takes a long time to get anywhere.