Previously undisclosed Ministry of Defence (MoD) documents reveal that Britain’s military seriously investigated the possibility that UFOs, or “unidentified aerial phenomena” (UAP), could represent highly advanced technology during the 1990s. These files, released at the National Archives in Kew and reported by The Times UK, show that the Defence Intelligence Staff (DIS) treated the phenomenon with considerable attention, particularly due to reports that UFOs could outmanoeuvre any known human aircraft.
One memo, dated March 4, 1997, stated, “Logic would indicate that if significant numbers are reporting seeing strange objects in the sky then there may be a basis in fact.” The memo further suggested that UAPs could pose a threat to the defence of the realm. Intelligence officers were particularly intrigued by incidents in Belgium between 1989 and 1990, where thousands of witnesses reported large, silent, low-flying black triangles capable of hovering and accelerating beyond supersonic speeds. Officials even speculated that the UK could benefit from acquiring technology that appeared far beyond its capabilities.
The documents also referenced the Rendlesham Forest incident of December 1980, where US Air Force personnel reported a glowing craft landing briefly near a Suffolk base. The DIS noted that in both the Belgian and Rendlesham cases, the reported UAPs did not use conventional propulsion and exhibited manoeuvrability beyond known engineering limits.
Other intelligence suggested international interest, including informal inquiries from the US and France, and even a “Moscow report” claiming that two military scientists could be behind the phenomena. Briefing letters described the potential technology as something “we do not have” and stressed that further investigation was warranted, regardless of whether the technology was terrestrial or extraterrestrial.
While acknowledging that research into UAPs might provoke ridicule, with jokes about “Little Green Men,” the DIS advised keeping an open mind. The documents noted that discoveries of exoplanets and the age of other suns made it plausible that life—and perhaps intelligent life—could exist elsewhere in the universe.
The files confirm that the DIS, renamed Defence Intelligence in 2009, officially ceased UAP investigations that year. Defence minister Luke Pollard told MPs in December 2024 that no dedicated team currently studies UFO reports, and the MoD has found no evidence that sightings over the past 50 years posed any military threat to the UK.
The newly released documents offer a rare insight into a period when the British military treated the possibility of extraterrestrial technology with the same strategic seriousness as conventional weapons development. This revelation underscores the evolving nature of defence priorities and the continuous quest to understand and mitigate potential threats, even those that may seem extraordinary.