Posted On: July 11, 2022

The Defense Intelligence Agency Reports on UFOs - Part 1

In 1985 the Defense Intelligence Agency released 139 pages of UFO related reports. Here is some information related to those released files.

When a Korean Airlines Boeing 747 was shot down after wandering inadvertently into Russian airspace in 1983, resulting in the deaths of 269 people, the agency responsible for monitoring and recording radio communications between the Soviet Air Force pilot and his headquarters, thus proving that orders to shoot down the airliner had in fact been given, was Americas highly secret Defense Intelligence Agency.

Established in 1961 by Robert McNamara, President Kennedys Defense Secretary at the time, the DIAs mandate was to coordinate all US military intelligence services (i.e. those of the Air Force, Army and Navy). This upset not only these individual services but also the CIA, who perceived the DIA as a serious rival, since the strength of the military services intelligence branches combined exceeded that of the CIA.

"There is, of course, always the possibility", remarked former CIA Director Allen Dulles in 1963, "that two such powerful and well financed agencies as CIA and DIA will become rivals and competitors".

He was right. By 1964 the DIAs control over military intelligence had increased to such an extent that the services were reduced to providing technical intelligence on enemy weapons, running the attache system and collecting but not analyzing raw intelligence data.

The DIA works for the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Director of Central Intelligence, and is staffed by both military officers and civilians. Its employees are said to number 7000 and its budget in the 1970s was estimated at $100 million per annum. In addition to processing and analyzing intelligence gathered from military sources, which is then turned into finished intelligence reports that are circulated within the Pentagon and the intelligence community, the DIA prepares daily and weekly intelligence digests as well as its own estimates of enemy capabilities.

In 1980, Peter Gersten, the New York lawyer representing Citizens Against UFO Secrecy (CAUS). He advised that in 1979 the DIA had submitted a motion to the US Attorney indicating that they had searched their complete record systems and had no documents on other than three that they had found and released. One involved a Peruvian incident in June 1980, while another related to some sightings in the Soviet Union that they were in the process of translating. The DIA had released the other document in 1977 to Charles Huffer, a teacher at the Berlin American High School in Germany. It deals with the now well-known case of UFOs sighted by an Imperial Iranian Air Force pilot in September 1976.

In view of the DIAs denials that they had any further material on UFOs, it is interesting that in December 1985 the Agency released a total of thirty seven UFO-related documents, amounting to 139 pages, to researcher Ray Boeche, who generously forwarded copies to me. In their covering letter to Boeche the DIA explained that "it has been determined that there are 53 documents responsive to your [FOIA] request. Of these 53 documents, portions of 15 are properly classified and are not releasable."

Some of the released documents, stamped "Best Copy Available", are barely legible. The earliest dates back to 1957, which is curious since the DIA was founded in 1961. Most probably the earlier reports were later forwarded to the DIA by the relevant service intelligence agencies. Illegibility on some of the documents is due either to the fact that the DIA considered them so insignificant that they were not worth preserving in legible form, or that they have been made deliberately illegible. It is evident from some of the documents that the primary concern of the DIA (or submitting agencies) was sightings related to Soviet activity.

1957: Finland.

The earliest legible reports refer to sightings in Finland in December 1957, one of which states that:

"a brilliant, elongated object, resembling a cigar, a long cigar, was sighted by two farmers in the terrain east of [illegible]. The object came into sight from the western sky. Its flight was horizontal, i.e. parallel to the earth, and its altitude was considerable. The line of flight was almost due east. Its speed was [illegible] that of a meteor or a Sputnik. The mysterious object was visible for a [illegible]."

The report on Finnish sightings concludes: "It is significant that the majority of the sightings here reported, as well as the majority of those reported in earlier months, were [bordering] the Soviet frontier. The possibility has been suggested that the Russians are conducting some of their tests from a vessel or vessels in far Northern waters."

1959: Afghanistan.

The DIA’s primary concern with UFO reports continued to focus on the possibility of Russian missile tests. An unclassified report dated 3 December 1959, supplied to the DIA by the Army, refers to sightings in Afghanistan in November of that year: "On 8 November a huge luminous object was seen moving at great speed over the sky in Kandahar. The object which was flying in a North Westerly direction had a downward movement and soon after it was seen it blew up with a loud roar on Shurad mountains, causing slight earth tremors in the area. No losses have been reported so far."

Although the Army was unable to secure any further information about the incident, and another on 29 November (both of which had been reported in news bulletins), the most probable explanation is that Soviet missile tests were being conducted near the Afghanistan border. Lieutenant Colonel Sandiland, who prepared the Army intelligence report, comments scathingly on the likelihood of UFOs being responsible: "Afghanistan, with grim determination, has decided to advance from the 13th to the 20th century as quickly as possible. If more advanced countries have sighted UFO, Well, So has Afghanistan."

On 2 December 1959 a bright, circular object was observed in the sky over Ghazni, heading south-west, which disappeared after two minutes. This drew another caustic comment from Lieutenant Colonel Sandiland: "Afghanistan, having sighted three UFOs within a period of two months, is rapidly catching up with other progressive nations, in this respect at least."

1965: Chile

In September 1965, the U-S Air Attache in Santiago, forwarded a news report to the DIA, of a sighting by the crew of Chilean National Airlines, Flight L-eh-N 904, on the 6th of that month.  The captain of the DC-6-b, was Marcelo Cistemas, Chief of Flight Operations for the airline, who described the sighting as follows:

"It was something mechanical, zig-zagging, its movements were not precise, suddenly, it changed direction, and came directly toward us, it gave me the impression that it had located us with radar.  During the 13 to 14 minutes, this strange object followed us, it gave me the impression that, when it located us, it tried to identify us.  At once we requested information from the Flight Control Tower in Arica, and Iquque.  We were informed that, no other flights, had been scheduled in that zone. 

I have never had, a similar experience.  I didn’t believe in UFOs.   It was not an optical vision, due to atmospherical reflections.  I am sure, it was a mechanical apparatus.  [Our] plane was flying at an altitude of 8500 feet, the night was cloudy, and without stars, the co-pilot, the engineer, hostess and steward also saw it.  It emitted a light, of an intense color, then changed, and turned to radiant white.  It was suspended, at a distance of about, 3 kms from us, in a straight line.  It was more or less 21:30 hours.  Suddenly the same way it appeared, it withdrew at an incredible speed.” 

Resources: Above Top Secret, Timothy Good, 1988.

My Take:  I always find it very interesting about how the government lies and then says something different in relation to UFOs. At first, it’s we only have three reports on file. Then suddenly there is a lot more reports. Were they lying? Were they incompetent? Or both? What do you think?

Posted On: July 11, 2022

The Defense Intelligence Agency Reports on UFOs - Part 1

In 1985 the Defense Intelligence Agency released 139 pages of UFO related reports. Here is some information related to those released files.

When a Korean Airlines Boeing 747 was shot down after wandering inadvertently into Russian airspace in 1983, resulting in the deaths of 269 people, the agency responsible for monitoring and recording radio communications between the Soviet Air Force pilot and his headquarters, thus proving that orders to shoot down the airliner had in fact been given, was Americas highly secret Defense Intelligence Agency.

Established in 1961 by Robert McNamara, President Kennedys Defense Secretary at the time, the DIAs mandate was to coordinate all US military intelligence services (i.e. those of the Air Force, Army and Navy). This upset not only these individual services but also the CIA, who perceived the DIA as a serious rival, since the strength of the military services intelligence branches combined exceeded that of the CIA.

"There is, of course, always the possibility", remarked former CIA Director Allen Dulles in 1963, "that two such powerful and well financed agencies as CIA and DIA will become rivals and competitors".

He was right. By 1964 the DIAs control over military intelligence had increased to such an extent that the services were reduced to providing technical intelligence on enemy weapons, running the attache system and collecting but not analyzing raw intelligence data.

The DIA works for the Secretary of Defense, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and the Director of Central Intelligence, and is staffed by both military officers and civilians. Its employees are said to number 7000 and its budget in the 1970s was estimated at $100 million per annum. In addition to processing and analyzing intelligence gathered from military sources, which is then turned into finished intelligence reports that are circulated within the Pentagon and the intelligence community, the DIA prepares daily and weekly intelligence digests as well as its own estimates of enemy capabilities.

In 1980, Peter Gersten, the New York lawyer representing Citizens Against UFO Secrecy (CAUS). He advised that in 1979 the DIA had submitted a motion to the US Attorney indicating that they had searched their complete record systems and had no documents on other than three that they had found and released. One involved a Peruvian incident in June 1980, while another related to some sightings in the Soviet Union that they were in the process of translating. The DIA had released the other document in 1977 to Charles Huffer, a teacher at the Berlin American High School in Germany. It deals with the now well-known case of UFOs sighted by an Imperial Iranian Air Force pilot in September 1976.

In view of the DIAs denials that they had any further material on UFOs, it is interesting that in December 1985 the Agency released a total of thirty seven UFO-related documents, amounting to 139 pages, to researcher Ray Boeche, who generously forwarded copies to me. In their covering letter to Boeche the DIA explained that "it has been determined that there are 53 documents responsive to your [FOIA] request. Of these 53 documents, portions of 15 are properly classified and are not releasable."

Some of the released documents, stamped "Best Copy Available", are barely legible. The earliest dates back to 1957, which is curious since the DIA was founded in 1961. Most probably the earlier reports were later forwarded to the DIA by the relevant service intelligence agencies. Illegibility on some of the documents is due either to the fact that the DIA considered them so insignificant that they were not worth preserving in legible form, or that they have been made deliberately illegible. It is evident from some of the documents that the primary concern of the DIA (or submitting agencies) was sightings related to Soviet activity.

1957: Finland.

The earliest legible reports refer to sightings in Finland in December 1957, one of which states that:

"a brilliant, elongated object, resembling a cigar, a long cigar, was sighted by two farmers in the terrain east of [illegible]. The object came into sight from the western sky. Its flight was horizontal, i.e. parallel to the earth, and its altitude was considerable. The line of flight was almost due east. Its speed was [illegible] that of a meteor or a Sputnik. The mysterious object was visible for a [illegible]."

The report on Finnish sightings concludes: "It is significant that the majority of the sightings here reported, as well as the majority of those reported in earlier months, were [bordering] the Soviet frontier. The possibility has been suggested that the Russians are conducting some of their tests from a vessel or vessels in far Northern waters."

1959: Afghanistan.

The DIA’s primary concern with UFO reports continued to focus on the possibility of Russian missile tests. An unclassified report dated 3 December 1959, supplied to the DIA by the Army, refers to sightings in Afghanistan in November of that year: "On 8 November a huge luminous object was seen moving at great speed over the sky in Kandahar. The object which was flying in a North Westerly direction had a downward movement and soon after it was seen it blew up with a loud roar on Shurad mountains, causing slight earth tremors in the area. No losses have been reported so far."

Although the Army was unable to secure any further information about the incident, and another on 29 November (both of which had been reported in news bulletins), the most probable explanation is that Soviet missile tests were being conducted near the Afghanistan border. Lieutenant Colonel Sandiland, who prepared the Army intelligence report, comments scathingly on the likelihood of UFOs being responsible: "Afghanistan, with grim determination, has decided to advance from the 13th to the 20th century as quickly as possible. If more advanced countries have sighted UFO, Well, So has Afghanistan."

On 2 December 1959 a bright, circular object was observed in the sky over Ghazni, heading south-west, which disappeared after two minutes. This drew another caustic comment from Lieutenant Colonel Sandiland: "Afghanistan, having sighted three UFOs within a period of two months, is rapidly catching up with other progressive nations, in this respect at least."

1965: Chile

In September 1965, the U-S Air Attache in Santiago, forwarded a news report to the DIA, of a sighting by the crew of Chilean National Airlines, Flight L-eh-N 904, on the 6th of that month.  The captain of the DC-6-b, was Marcelo Cistemas, Chief of Flight Operations for the airline, who described the sighting as follows:

"It was something mechanical, zig-zagging, its movements were not precise, suddenly, it changed direction, and came directly toward us, it gave me the impression that it had located us with radar.  During the 13 to 14 minutes, this strange object followed us, it gave me the impression that, when it located us, it tried to identify us.  At once we requested information from the Flight Control Tower in Arica, and Iquque.  We were informed that, no other flights, had been scheduled in that zone. 

I have never had, a similar experience.  I didn’t believe in UFOs.   It was not an optical vision, due to atmospherical reflections.  I am sure, it was a mechanical apparatus.  [Our] plane was flying at an altitude of 8500 feet, the night was cloudy, and without stars, the co-pilot, the engineer, hostess and steward also saw it.  It emitted a light, of an intense color, then changed, and turned to radiant white.  It was suspended, at a distance of about, 3 kms from us, in a straight line.  It was more or less 21:30 hours.  Suddenly the same way it appeared, it withdrew at an incredible speed.” 

Resources: Above Top Secret, Timothy Good, 1988.

My Take:  I always find it very interesting about how the government lies and then says something different in relation to UFOs. At first, it’s we only have three reports on file. Then suddenly there is a lot more reports. Were they lying? Were they incompetent? Or both? What do you think?