Here is a list of 14 notable cases in chronological order:


1. The Roswell Incident: In 1947, a UFO allegedly crashed near Roswell, New Mexico. The U.S. military initially claimed to have recovered the wreckage of a Flying Saucer. However, the story quickly changed that the wreck was a weather balloon, and the incident has been the subject of much speculation and conspiracy theories since.


2. Gordon Cooper: accounts 1951. An astronaut and test pilot, Gordon claimed to have witnessed a flying saucer while on a mission in 1951. He described seeing multiple craft as silver and circular, flying higher than he could in a jet fighter. Cooper also reported seeing a negative film of a flying saucer landing on three telescoping legs. When his film crew approached, the vehicle flew off. He sent the film to D.C. and didn't hear anything since.


3. The ICBM Claim: In 1964, Robert Jacobs, a U.S. Air Force officer, claimed to have witnessed a UFO disabling an intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) during a test launch. After the story broke, Jacobs' was hassled repeatedly at his home, and an explosion destroyed his mailbox.

Credits: Supplied Image; Author: Chris Lehto;

4. The Westall UFO incident: In 1966 Westall, Victoria, Australia, According to witness accounts, a large, unidentified flying object descended into a nearby grassy field, where it stayed for 20 minutes. Students and a teacher at a nearby school reported seeing the craft depart with five smaller aircraft.


5. The Nuclear Event at Malmstrom: In 1967, Robert Salas, a U.S. Air Force officer, claimed that a "hovering orange fireball" at the gate knocked all ten nuclear missiles offline! Salas has been holding a press conference in Washington every five years since. Rep Gallagher put Salas's account into the U.S. congressional record summer of 2022.


6. The Rendlesham Forest Incident: 1980. The Rendlesham UFO event, also known as the "British Roswell," refers to a series of reported UFO sightings near a U.S./ British military base in Suffolk, England. One of the key witnesses to the events was John Burroughs, a U.S. Air Force security officer. According to his testimony, he and several other airmen observed strange lights in the sky and even encountered a glowing, metallic ship on the ground.


7. The Belgian Wave: In 1989 and 1990, was a series of mass UFO sightings. "Three unusual lights" prompted the launch of 2 F-16 fighters. One hundred forty-three witnesses spoke up afterward. Dozens of police reportedly saw the objects. Flight radars recorded the things, but there was some controversy because a primary photo later proved fake.


8. Ariel School: On September 16, 1994, a group of students and teachers at Ariel School in Ruwa, Zimbabwe, reported seeing a UFO hovering over the school grounds. According to one student, the UFO was "shaped like a flattened disc and was silver in color. It was about the size of two classrooms and had a series of red and green lights around the edges." The students made similar compelling accounts and haven't changed their story in decades!


9. The "Varginha UFO incident": refers to a supposed crash of a Tic-Tac-like vehicle near Varginha, Brazil, in 1996. According to eyewitness accounts, two humanoid creatures were spotted and captured by authorities. One military troop died from supposedly touching a being. US C-130 aircraft allegedly transported the wreckage and beings.




10. The Phoenix Lights: on March 13, 1997, a series of UFO sightings occurred across Nevada and Arizona. Over 750 people across multiple states saw strange lights in large triangular formations flying silently overhead. A self-proclaimed Air Force maintenance troop called the local news that night and said two F-15s launched from nearby Luke Air Force Base to intercept the lights. The pilots returned shaken and "scared." Witnesses said the flying lights made up a 300-m-long boomerang.


11. Turkey UFO: In the summers of 2007, 2008, and 2009, a security guard Yalcin Yilmaz, filmed strange lights and what appeared to be metallic flying saucers. Roger Lear, a noted Ufologist, reportedly saw the saucers with his own eyes after a UFO conference in Istanbul, Turkey. He said you could "see beings" in the windows. Yilmaz used a super long-range zoom lens and filmed very detailed footage of a UFO. Some experts claim it was a misidentified cruise ship or just a hoax.

I plan to go to Turkey and investigate for myself summer of 2023.


12. The Nimitz Incident: November 2004 The Modern Smoking Gun. The Nimitz engagement made me and many other people take notice of the Phenomenon. During training exercises off the coast of San Diego, the new Princeton Radar picked up strange radar contacts coming down from space. They reset the radar, and the contacts were still there. After a week of this, radar operator Kevin Day vectored new squadron commander, F-18 Pilot David Fravor, to identify the contacts. The pilots reported engaging with a "flying Tic-Tac" for 5 minutes. The "white, smooth object" moved without inertia and seemed to interact with the water surface or a larger object just under the water. The Tic-Tac reportedly left "as if shot like a bullet."


13. The Gimbal Case: In 2013, a box-orb UFO was reportedly seen "almost daily" by Navy F-18 pilots after a new radar upgrade. The sightings, one captured on video as "The Gimbal" video, have been the subject of much debate and speculation, with some experts claiming that it was caused by "glare." I show it is still anomalous on my YouTube channel through two different methods.


14. Catalina Islands "Drone Swarm": Finally, in 2019, there were multiple UFO drone sightings off the coast of San Diego, including an encounter with the USS Omaha. A Navy visual team recorded the drones in optical and night vision. Some footage shows the objects going underwater, although skeptics argue it is an apparent optical illusion. Task force lead Scott Bray said they were "probably drones," but insiders say the military still considers them unidentified objects.

This short list doesn't include Project Blue Book, the U.S. Air Force's investigation, nor does it have the U.K.'s MOD Files.

What case would you add to the list? Let us know at The Portugal News!

Additionally, check out the videos for most of these cases on my YouTube channel Lehto Files.

Author

Chris Lehto, ex-F-16 pilot, and YouTuber, combines aviation expertise and passion for the unexplained to investigate UAPs. He founded the UAP Society, funding decentralised research into alien existence using NFTs.

Chris Lehto