RESTAte TED/UNCLASSIFIED ~~ MOD Form 329D MINISTRY OF DEFENCE (Revised 8/00) PPQ = 100 0" 1. Attention is draw 0\ to the notes on the inside flap. 2. Enter notes of l~ related files on U- page 2 of this jacket -. . lb6R~Q(SJ~ElEPHONE NUMBER] c:...~ C’\ SUBJECT POL\ 2aQQ. [BLOCKC APITALS] RECORD OF KEYWORDS: I I I ----~~-----~-----------l-----------~I ------------ I I I I I I I I I 1 J R I eferred to Date E M n i e n l i Referred to Date E M n i e n l i Referred to Date E M n i e n l i Referred to Date Mini c::. Enel ~ ~ \~f.1 .",.’"f’1 =1\0\ ’1(:; I-i \ - --’ I - - t , FOR DRO USE ONLY I 1 st Review date , - I , - - - L - --- 2nd Review e ION - - F at - L I I , ~ Registered File Disposal Form MOD Form 262F (Revised 9/01) u. - - FILE TITLE: (Main Heading Secondary Heading Tertiary Heading etc) e Q\l0 ~c.J part:~. c:::...~1 PROTECTIVE MARKING (including caveats & descriptors): e II \C.~\C\\lO Date of last enclosure: Date closed: PART 1. DISPOSAL SCHEDULE RECOMMENDATION FOR DEFENCE INFO(EXP)-R USE ONLY (To be completed when the file is closed) v [----------1 [-----------11 D Destroy after years ~years Date of 1 st review Date of 2nd review Forward Destruction Date [6 Forward to INFO(EXP)-R after ~~t- ~ Reviewer’s Reviewer’s No recommendation Signature: PART 2. BRANCH REVIEW (To be fully completed at time of file closure) v e (Delete as appropriate) ~ D a. Of no further administrative value and not worthy of permanent preservation. DESTROY IMMEDIATELY (Remembert hat TOP SECRET and Codeword material cannot be destroyed locally and must be forwarded to INFO(EXP)-R. \- "\~ year~\ a . b. (i) To be retained until the end of the for the following reason(s): )) v t/ e D D LEGAL DEFENCE POLICY + OPERATIONS D D CONTRACTUAL ORIGINAL COMMITTEE PAPERS D D FINANCE/AUDIT MAJOR EQUIPMENT PROJECT [Z’ D DIRECTORATE POLICY OTHER (Specify) = PPQ 100 (Continued overleaf) e STATEMENT OF MOD POLICY ON UFO SIGHTINGS The MOD has no opinion on the existence or otherwise of extra-terrestrial life. However, in over fifty years, no UFO report has revealed any evidence of a potential threat to the United Kingdom. The MOD has no specific capability for identifying the nature of such sightings. There is no Defence benefit in such investigation and it would be an inappropriate use of defence resources. Furthermore, responding to reported UFO sightings diverts MOD resources from tasks that are relevant to Defence. Accordingly, and in order to make best use of Defence resources, we have decided that from the 1 December 2009 the dedicated UFO hotline answer-phone service and e-mail address will be withdrawn. MOD will no longer respond to reported UFO sightings or investigate them. The ongoing programme to release Departmental files on UFO matters to the National Archive will continue. r’ ~1. ~ ’ ,! \ INVESTORS IN PEOPLE e STATEMENT OF MOD POLICY ON UFO SIGHTINGS The MOD has no opinion on the existence or otherwise of extra-terrestrial life. However, in over fifty years, no UFO report has revealed any evidence of a potential threat to the United Kingdom. The MOD has no specific capability for identifying the nature of such sightings. There is no Defence benefit in such investigation and it would be an inappropriate use of defence resources. Furthermore, responding to reported UFO sightings diverts MOD resources from tasks that are relevant to Defence. Accordingly, and in order to make best use of Defence resources, we have decided that from the 1 December 2009 the dedicated UFO hotline answer-phone service and e-mail address will be withdrawn. MOD will no longer respond to reported UFO sightings or investigate them. The ongoing programme to release Departmental files on UFO matters to the National Archive will continue. ~ ~ r, ~l ~8 ~~ -.."......,- SI I!." INVESTORS IN PEOPLE e 20091111-MinSub-MOD Policy Concerning UFO Reports-CNM 127.09-U 11 Nov 2009 PS/USofS Copy to: PS/SofS ACAS Air Command: PS/Min(AF) D News Dir PSO/CINCAIR PS/Min(DES) PS/CDI PSO/DCINC PSMin(IDS) S01 Air & Ops Dev PSO/AOC 1 Gp PS/PUS PSO/AOC 2 Gp PS//VCDS/2nd PUS Cmd See PS/CAS DCS(CS) DEICE Hd MCG MOD POLICY CONCERNING UFO REPORTS Issue 1. Reassessment of MOD Policy concerning UFO sighting reports in order to make best use of defence resources. Recommendation 2. That the Minister notes: a. In more than fifty years no UFO sighting reported to the Department has indicated the existence of any military threat to the UK; b. There is no Defence benefit in Air Command Secretariat recording, collating, analysing or investigating UFO sightings; c. The level of resources devoted to this task is increasing in response to a recent upsurge in reported sightings, diverting staff from more valuable Defence-related activities; d. The release of exisiting UFO files to the National Archive is nearing completion; and agrees: e. The closure of the "UFO Hotline" answerphone service and associated e-mail address from 30 November 2009; f. That reported sightings received from other sources should be answered by a standard letter and, on the advice of Corporate Memory and The National Archive, should be retained for 30 days and then destroyed, largely removing any future FOlliability and negating the need to release future files post 30 November 2009; e g. That all UFO files dated up until 30 November 2009 should be released to the National Archive one year from the date of closure. Timina 1. Routine. Subject to Ministerial agreement this policy will be implemented from 30 November 2009. Backaround 2. Since the end of WW2, the MOD has had responsibility for UFO matters. This work is currently performed in the RAF Business Secretariat in Air Command, having been transferred from the Air Staff in Main Building earlier this year. The work comprises answering a range of correspondence from Parliament and the general public, including FOI requests and reports of UFO sightings left on a dedicated answerphone (the "UFO Hotline") and e-mail address. Where an address has been left on the hotline, a Treat Official response is provided, in line with current Departmental policy. Very occasionally, when a sighting is reported by a credible source, such as aircrew, air traffic controllers or police officers, the UFO desk investigates sightings in a little more depth. This involves air defence specialists reviewing radar records. The UFO desk also has responsibility, together with Defence Intelligence Staff, for the transfer of some 160 historical UFO files to the National Archives, as agreed by USofS in September 20071. 3. Over the last decade the MOD has received an average of some 150 reports of UFOs from members of the public each year. This year, the rate at which reports are being received has risen substantially and to date the total stands at over 520. Also, 97 FOI requests have been received since January. The increased workload caused by this upsurge in sighting reports is now exceeding the level of staff resource (1x Band D) allocated to the task and impacting on other tasks. However, no investigation of a UFO sighting has ever revealed anything to suggest an extra-terrestrial presence, or a military threat to the UK. Since UFO investigations and correspondence have no apparent defence value we have reviewed the continuing need for this work, rather than simply accept the risk it now presentsi tt.o other public and Parliamentary business or seek to allocate additional resources to 4. This led to the conclusion that we should seek to reduce very significantly the UFO task, which is consuming increasing resource, but produces no valuable Defence output. In doing so we concluded: The dedicated UFO Hotline answerphone service and e-mail address serve no Defence purpose and merely encourage the generation of correspondence of no Defence value. Accordingly these facilities should be withdrawn as soon as possible, preferably by 30 November. At that point a statement would be A. placed on the MOD website, setting out the MOD’s revised policy in relation to UFOs, a draft of which is included in the Newsbrief at Annex The "Hotline" answerphone would be set up to playa recording of the policy statement, but would no longer take messages; D/MSU/2/9/is dated 25 September 2007. e . Investigations into UFO sightings, even from more reliable sources, serve no useful purpose and merely divert air defence specialists from their primary tasks. Accordingly, no further investigations should be carried out into UFO reports received from any source. Any UFO reports received in future should be answered by a standard letter a draft of which is attached at Annex Band there should be no suggestion that they have been investigated by MOD. This does not apply to, or signify any change in, the standing arrangements for control and defence of UK airspace; . There is advantage in extending the transfer of files to the National Archive to include all Air Command UFO files over one year old. This would minimise the volume of information held by the department and allow FOI requests to be dealt with under exemption s.22 (Information Intended for future publication). This practrice should be adopted as soon as possible, following on on from the current transfer of files, and should apply to all files opened before 30 November 2009; . There is no Defence value in holding future UFO sighting reports from the public on MOD files. Corporate Memory, after discussions with the National Archive, have recommended a policy of destroying UFO sighting reports from the public after 30 days. This would mean that there would be no FOlliability and no requirement to release any further files to the National Archive, since the only filing generated would be copies of the standard response. A single generic copy of the standard letter would be placed on the MOD publication scheme. . There is no merit in maintaining a dedicated UFO desk in Air Cmd, nor in adding to the staff resource allocated to the UFO task. The current UFO staff resource should be redeployed to other public and Parliamentary tasks as soon as possible. However, Air Command Bus Sec should continue to act as secretariat focal point and policy lead for UFO matters across MOD, as required, allocating this residual task within existing resources. Other Nation’s approaches 8. We have deliberately avoided formal approaches to other Governments on this issue. Such approaches would become public when the relevant UFO files are released and would be viewed by "ufologists" as evidence of international collaboration and conspiracy. However, a search of the US Department of Defence website shows that they publicly state that the issue of UFOs is no longer being investigated by the US Government. Relevant documentation was placed in the US National Archives and Records Administration (NARA)s ome time ago (Annex C). This is broadly in line with our proposed way forward. Public sources suggest that other Governments are taking a similar approach to ours, with the Canadian, French and Danish Governments publishing their historic UFO files in recent years. Presentation 10. A decision to cease investigating UFO sightings will attract negative comment from "ufologists". They may, individually or as a group, mount a vociferous, but short-lived campaign to reinstate the "UFO Hotline" suggesting that, by not investigating UFOs, e The MOD does not carry out research into extra-terrestrial matters and does not provide an aerial identification service. It would realise no defence benefit and be an inappropriate use of defence resources if we were to do so MOD has no interest in receiving reports of UFO sightings and will not be actioning the reports that we receive post November 2009. The defence of the UK remains of the highest importance to the MOD and this statement implies no change to arrangements to defend our air space. Q&A Are our skies being left undefended? There will be no change to current arrangements and air space integrity will be maintained through the existing mixture of civil and military radar and aircraft on quick reaction alert. Why have you changed things now? The MOD must ensure that it prioritises and targets resources where they are most needed. This decision is a response to the continuing need to achieve best value from defence resources Does this mean the MOD will no longer deal with UFO matters? MOD will continue to comply with its obligations under the FOI Act and the planned programme to release historic UFO files will continue. e Annex B o ROYAL xxxxx AIR FORCE HEADQUARTERS AIR COMMAND RAF Business Secretariat Room 2E03 Spitfire Block Royal Air Force High Wycombe Buckinghamshire HP144UE xxx XXX Our Ref: UFO Report xxxxx Dear XXXXX, I am writing with reference to your report of an ’unidentified flying object’. MOD has no opinion on the existence or otherwise of extra-terrestrial life. However, in over fifty years, no UFO report has revealed any evidence of a potential threat to the United Kingdom. MOD has no specific capability for identifying the nature of such sightings. There is no Defence benefit in such investigation and it would be an inappropriate use of defence resources. Furthermore, responding to reported UFO sightings diverts MOD resources from tasks that are relevant to Defence. Accordingly, in order to make best use of Defence resources, MOD will no longer respond to reported UFO sightings or investigate them. Additionally, we have decided to withdraw the dedicated UFO hotline answer-phone service and e-mail address. The ongoing programme to release Departmental files on UFO matters to the National Archive will continue. helpful. I hope this is XXXXX RAF Bus Sec e U.S. Department of Defense Official Web site - Unidentified Flying Objects Page 1 of 1 AJ.~ ~ ..",’>:-. DEFENSE’" . Web~ Oct. 05, 2009 War on Terror Transformation News Products Press Resources Images Lat E Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs) This issue is no longer being investigated by the Defense Department. As you may know, the United States Air Force began investigating UFOs in 1948 under a program called Project Sign. Later the program’s name was changed to Project Grudge, and in 1953 it was changed again to Project Blue Book. On December 17, 1969, the Secretary of the Air Force announced the termination of Project Blue Book. The decision to discontinue UFO investigations was based on a number of factors, including reports and studies by the’University of Colorado and the National Academy of Sciences, as well as past UFO studies and the Air Force’s two decades of experience investigating UFO reports. As a result of these investigations, studies, and experience, the conclusions of Project Blue Book were: . No UFO reported, investigated, and evaluated by the Air Force has ever given any indication of threat to our national security. . There has been no evidence submitted to or discovered by the Air Force that sightings categorized as "unidentified" represent technological developments or principles beyond the range of present-day scientific knowledge. . There has been no evidence indicating that sightings categorized as "unidentified" are extraterrestrial vehicles. Between 1948 and 1969 the Air Force investigated 12,618 reported UFO sightings. Of these, 11,917 were found to have been caused by material objects such as balloons, satellites, and aircraft; immaterial objects such as lightning, reflections, and other natural phenomena; astronomical objects such as stars, planets, the sun, and the moon; weather conditions; and hoaxes. Only 701 reported sightings remain unexplained. All documentation regarding the former Blue Book investigation was permanently transferred to the Military Reference Branch, National Archives and Records Administration, 8th and Pennsylvania Avenue, Washington, DC 20408, and is available for public review. A list of private organizations interested in aerial phenomena can be found in Gale’s Encyclopedia of Associations, available in the reference section of many libraries. Air Force Fact Sheets on this topic may be viewed, including one about the so-called Roswell Incident . The Naval Historical Center has compiled a bibliography. Site Map Privacy & Security Notice About DoD External Link Disclaimer Web Policy About DefenseLlN K http://www.defenselink.miVfaq/pis/16.html 05/10/2009 . I. Page 4 of 4 ’" Ii’ C TNs e-mail and any fes transm ed with it are confidential and intended solely for the use of the individual or enty to whom it is adclressed if you are not the intencfecl recipient or there are problems please notify the sencler and then delete the e-mail (and if attached) from your system. should note that e-ma traffic on MOD systems is subject to to secure the effective operation of system and for other lawful purposes. The MOD has taken steps to keep attachments free from viruses. However it accepts no liability for any loss or damage howsoever causecl as a result passed 011. It is the of the recipient to perform all necesswy checks. The statements expressed in this and do not necessarily reflect opinions or policies of the department. 13/08/2009 Page 2 of2 -Av10D IBty for h a a n s y t l a o k s e s n o r s t d e a p m s a t g o e k e h e o p w s th o i e s v e e - r m a c i a l u a s n e d d a a n s y a a r t e t s a u c lt h m o e f n a t n s y f v r i e r e u f s r b o e m i v n i g r p us a e s s s . e H d o o w n e . v I e t r is i t t h a e c cepts no T re h s e po s ns t i a b t i e l m it e y n t o s f t e h x e p r r e ec s i s p e i d e n i t n t t o h i p s e e r - f m o a r i m l a a ll r e n e p c e e r s s s o a n r a y l a ch n e d c d k o s. n ot necessarily reflect the opinions or policies of department. the 09/03/2009