The British military sought “extraterrestrial” technology after receiving credible intelligence that UFOs appeared to be real and could outmanoeuvre any known human craft, previously secret files show.
The Defence Intelligence Staff, a UK intelligence unit within the Ministry of Defence, was ordered to examine the issue of “unidentified aerial phenomena” (UAP) in the 1990s. Documents placed in the National Archives at Kew, southwest London, confirm the subject was treated with the utmost seriousness.
One internal memo, dated March 4, 1997, states: “Logic would indicate that if significant numbers are reporting seeing strange objects in the sky then there may be a basis in fact. It could be argued that UAPs pose a potential threat to the defence of the realm since we have no idea what they are!”
Intelligence officers appeared to lend credence to reports from Belgium where, over five months between November 1989 and April 1990, thousands of people reported large, silent, low-flying black triangles. They suggested that Britain could benefit from securing and harnessing technology that appeared to be beyond anything the country possessed.
“A supplementary issue is the possibility of technology acquisition,” a report noted. “UAPs do not appear to use conventional reaction propulsion. The Belgian deltas (confirmed by the country’s MoD) hovered for long periods and accelerated quickly to supersonic speeds, outrunning F-16s. If this represents real technology perhaps it should be acquired.”
A separate report also mentioned the Belgian incidents as well as “the Rendlesham Forest ‘landing’”, claiming the latter had been “confirmed by the US unit commander and others”. It was a reference to an incident at a US air force base near Woodbridge, Suffolk, where military personnel reported that a glowing “craft of unknown origin” landed briefly before shooting back into the sky on Boxing Day 1980.
A mocked-up intelligence file on Rendlesham Forest’s UFO trail
ALAMY
The document stated: “In both [Belgian and Rendlesham Forest] cases the UAP apparently did not use any conventional propulsion system and could hover as well as move at considerable speed. The French have always had an interest in this topic … and I am aware that there is an informal intelligence grouping in the US.” They also claimed to have a “Moscow report” that suggested “two military scientists are responsible for UFOs”.
Another briefing letter, marked “Secret UK Eyes B” adds: “The reported technology, if true, would represent technology we do not have. No matter the origin, the determination of the technology, and possible acquisition, is a matter for Defence Intelligence Staff.”
The correspondence said that most UFO reports were tenuous but that a small number could not be explained immediately. “Some reports described objects in terms of manoeuvre, speed and shape which lie beyond our engineering knowledge and that which could be reasonably expected from hostile powers,” it claimed.
“There is considerable difficulty, therefore, in assessing and prioritising these reports sufficiently quickly to provide, where warranted, an active response.” It added: “Any future concerns, terrestrial or extraterrestrial, are likely to require national or international coordination, responsive only within security alliances.”
The documents advocated keeping an open mind and seeking further information, acknowledging that the research by the Defence Intelligence Staff would be met with derision in some quarters. “Mention of UAPs is guaranteed to generate mirth and a range of Little Green Men jokes, possibly because of the fringe element of ‘crazies’ and the lack of conventional intelligence information,” it noted.
It did, however, insist that it would be foolish to rule out the possibility that we are not alone. One report said: “Continuing discoveries of planets and emerging knowledge of circumstances needed for, at least, non-intelligent life will lead to speculation that planets and life may commonly occur.
“With that change of perception, arguing that our rock alone is a teeming and verdant speck in a vast and sterile nothingness may soon be as unrewarding as the church once found in continuing to insist that the world was flat; more so with the knowledge that many suns are older than our own and perhaps provide conditions for advanced evolution.
“Even though some experts argue very low probabilities for intelligent life, and allowing for barely imagined transit distances requiring unknown uses of physics, we cannot rule out entirely the idea of extra-terrestrial observation/visitation, either covert or overt. Our current policy to retain an open mind on these matters is, therefore, probably correct.”
The DIS was renamed Defence Intelligence in 2009. In December 2024, Luke Pollard, the minister for defence readiness, told MPs that similar analysis is no longer taking place. “The MoD ceased to investigate reports of UFOs or UAP in 2009,” he said.
“It has been deemed more valuable to prioritise staff towards other defence-related activities. There are no current plans to create a dedicated team to investigate alleged sightings.” He added: “The MoD’s position remains unchanged, which is that, in over 50 years, no sighting reported to the department has indicated the existence of any military threat to the UK.”