Tag

U.S. Air Force

9 events

Sighting

Featured

February 12, 2023

Lake Huron: F-16C engages and downs an unidentified object

Cockpit/sensor footage from the February 12, 2023 U.S. Air National Guard F-16C engagement over Lake Huron, Michigan — the third of four shootdowns that month in the wake of the Chinese surveillance-balloon incident. AARO has characterized the underlying object as 'a benign hobbyist or research balloon' but the engagement footage itself is published for the first time in PURSUE Release 02.

Lake Huron, Michigan — United States#U.S. Air Force #AARO #Video Evidence #Department of War

Sighting

Featured

December 26–28, 1980

U.S. Air Force personnel report close encounter at Rendlesham Forest

U.S. Air Force security personnel stationed at the twin Royal Air Force bases of Bentwaters and Woodbridge report a triangular, metallic craft on the ground in adjacent Rendlesham Forest, followed by aerial light phenomena two nights later. The deputy base commander signs a memorandum to the U.K. Ministry of Defence summarizing the events.

Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk — United Kingdom#U.S. Air Force #Cold War #Multiple Witnesses #International

Document Release

1955

AFOSI box 7: 233 incident summaries from the Project Blue Book era (1955)

Three-volume Air Force Office of Special Investigations dossier (Box 7) containing 233 incident summary reports from 1955. Released by the Department of War as part of PURSUE Release 01.

#U.S. Air Force #Project Blue Book #PURSUE Release 01 #Afosi

Sighting

Featured

July 19–26, 1952

Radar tracks unidentified objects over Washington, D.C.

Across two consecutive weekends, multiple radar installations and visual observers track unidentified objects above the restricted airspace surrounding the U.S. Capitol and White House. The Air Force convenes its largest press conference since World War II to address the events.

Washington, District of Columbia — United States#U.S. Air Force #Cold War #Radar Confirmed #Multiple Witnesses

Document Release

1949

AFOSI box 186 — 319.1 Flying Discs (1949)

Air Force Office of Special Investigations file box 186, folder 319.1 'Flying Discs' — 143 pages of 1949-era investigative material. One of the earliest organized USAF UAP file holdings.

#U.S. Air Force #PURSUE Release 01 #Afosi #Spherical UAP / orbs

Document Release

Featured

1948–1950

Sandia, New Mexico: 209 'green orbs, discs, and fireballs' over a nuclear-weapons facility

A 116-page joint file from the U.S. Air Force and the Armed Forces Special Weapons Program — the Manhattan Project's nuclear-weapons custodial successor — documenting 209 sightings of 'green orbs,' discs, and fireballs maneuvering near the Sandia, New Mexico custodial nuclear-weapons installation between 1948 and 1950. Released in full as part of PURSUE Release 02; some sighting locations contained recovered copper powder.

Sandia Base, New Mexico — United States#U.S. Air Force #Cold War #Multiple Witnesses #Department of War

Sighting

January 7, 1948

Capt. Thomas Mantell killed in F-51 crash while pursuing an unidentified object

Kentucky Air National Guard pilot Capt. Thomas Mantell is killed when his P-51 Mustang crashes during the pursuit of a large, slow-moving object reported above Godman Field. The Air Force eventually attributes the object to a Skyhook research balloon.

Godman Field, Kentucky — United States#U.S. Air Force #Cold War #Project Blue Book

Official Statement

Featured

July 8, 1947

Roswell Army Air Field announces recovery of a 'flying disc'

The Roswell Army Air Field public information officer issues a press release stating that the 509th Bomb Group has come into possession of a 'flying disc' recovered from a nearby ranch. Within twenty-four hours the Army retracts the statement and identifies the debris as a weather balloon.

Roswell, New Mexico — United States#U.S. Air Force #Cold War #FOIA

Document Release

1946–1948

USAF / AMC general files — pre-Project Blue Book UFO investigations (1946–1948)

Air Materiel Command and Army Air Forces general files covering 1946–1948 UFO investigations conducted before Project Blue Book's formal establishment. Includes the Maury Island and Roswell-era investigative correspondence.

#U.S. Air Force #PURSUE Release 01 #Project Sign #1940s