Air Force security personnel, missile crews, radar operators, and a B-52 bomber crew reported observing unidentified aerial objects during a prolonged incident near Minot Air Force Base.
On October 24, 1968, military personnel at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota reported a significant UFO incident involving multiple coordinated sightings by ground security, maintenance crews, and a B-52H Stratofortress crew. The event is notable for being one of the most thoroughly documented Cold War-era UAP cases, featuring radar confirmation, photographic evidence from the B-52’s radarscope, and reports of radio interference.
Key Details of the Incident:
Sightings: At least 14 ground observers reported a large, luminous, egg-shaped object that hovered, accelerated rapidly, and changed direction abruptly. The B-52 crew visually identified the object as a massive craft with a metallic cylinder and a glowing crescent section.
Radar and Electronic Effects: The object was tracked on both ground and airborne radar, maintaining a constant bearing near the B-52 before vanishing. The aircraft’s UHF radio transmitters simultaneously failed during the close approach, a phenomenon later attributed by investigators to plasma.
Security Breach: Shortly after the B-52 landed, security alarms were triggered at Launch Facility Oscar-7, a Minuteman missile silo. Guards found the outer door open and the inner lock disturbed, though no intruders were found. Some witnesses reported finding radiation patterns in the area.
Official Conclusion: The U.S. Air Force’s Project Blue Book officially dismissed the incident, attributing the lights to the star Sirius and the aircraft itself, and the radar/radio anomalies to ball lightning or plasma. However, independent investigators and scientists have since argued that the evidence, particularly the radarscope photos and multiple credible witness accounts, suggests an unidentified phenomenon.
| Date: | 1968-10-24 |
| Location: | Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota |
| Country: | United States |
| Category: | Military |
| Credibility: | High / Officially Documented |