Pentagon spread UFO myths to shield secret-weapons programs: WSJ

By Al Mayadeen English
Source: The Wall Street Journal
7 Jun 2025 17:53
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The Pentagon has deliberately promoted UFO myths for decades to conceal classified military programs and testing.

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The image, from video provided by the Department of Defense, labelled Gimbal, from 2015, shows an unexplained object is seen at the center as it is tracked as it soars high along the clouds, traveling against the wind (Department of Defense via AP)

The US government has, at times, been the source of the very UFO conspiracies it later sought to disprove, The Wall Street Journal revealed on Saturday. A Pentagon office tasked with investigating claims of hidden extraterrestrial programs discovered that disinformation campaigns dating back decades were, in fact, orchestrated by the military itself.

One instance, traced back to the 1980s, involved an Air Force colonel who visited a bar near the secretive Area 51 base in Nevada. He handed the owner manipulated photographs of supposed flying saucers, images that later became part of local folklore. As it turns out, the officer's true mission was to mislead. The photos, he admitted in 2023, were fake and intended to divert attention from classified stealth aircraft tests, such as the then-secret F-117. The ruse was designed to preserve secrecy during the Cold War. Better, officials figured, that civilians believe what they'd seen came from another planet.

The investigation was conducted by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO), established by congressional mandate to assess claims about unidentified anomalous phenomena (UAPs). AARO's team had unprecedented access to decades of classified programs and records. In its first public report, released in 2024, the Pentagon concluded that allegations of secret alien technology programs were unsubstantiated. But the WSJ's reporting now suggests that this official account omitted critical information.

Manufactured mythology

According to interviews with officials and a review of thousands of documents, AARO found that the Pentagon had, in fact, allowed and sometimes encouraged UFO myths to flourish. In some cases, military personnel planted false documents and stories to protect sensitive weapons projects. In others, officials tolerated public speculation about alien visitors to distract from national security vulnerabilities, such as weaknesses in nuclear defense systems.

'Yankee Blue'

One longstanding military practice uncovered by investigators bordered on the surreal. New commanders entering certain classified Air Force programs were sometimes shown images of supposed alien craft and told they were joining a secret operation, codenamed "Yankee Blue", to reverse-engineer alien technology. They were instructed never to speak of it again. Many believed the information to be real and signed non-disclosure agreements. According to an official briefed on the matter, "We are talking about hundreds and hundreds of people. These men signed NDAs. They thought it was real."

The disinformation became so deeply rooted that even senior officers were taken in. What may have begun as a kind of hazing ritual spun into a full-blown mythos. In spring 2023, the Defense Secretary's office ordered the practice to be halted immediately. But by then, the damage had already been done.

Decades-long deception

At one point, AARO investigators briefed Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines on the revelations. She asked, "Could this be the basis for the persistent belief that the US has an alien program that we've concealed from the American people?" An official responded affirmatively, adding that the deception had lasted for decades.

Another historical mystery examined by AARO dates to 1967, when then-Air Force Captain Robert Salas was monitoring a nuclear missile bunker in Montana. He recalled being alerted by guards above ground about a glowing reddish-orange object hovering near the facility. Moments later, all 10 missiles went offline. "There is a gigantic coverup, not only by the Air Force, but every other federal agency that has cognizance of this subject," Salas told the Journal.

What wasn't alien activity was top-secret electromagnetic testing effect

But according to AARO's findings, what Salas experienced wasn't alien activity. It was likely an effect of top-secret electromagnetic testing intended to simulate a nuclear attack's impact on missile guidance systems. A glowing device placed 60 feet above the site emitted energy bursts that interfered with control equipment. Witnesses, unaware of the test, were ordered never to speak of the incident.

Sean Kirkpatrick, the scientist who led AARO until recently, described the Pentagon's internal secrecy as a "hall of mirrors." In one case, a 2015 video of what appeared to be a fast-moving spherical object near a fighter jet was determined to be an illusion caused by camera angle and relative motion. In other cases, supposed UFO sightings were traced back to drones, birds, or sun reflections from satellites.

Engineered encounters

The Wall Street Journal reported that the 2024 Pentagon report excluded many of these discoveries, largely due to pressure from within the Air Force, which feared damaging careers or exposing sensitive programs. A second volume of the report, expected later this year, may include findings related to hoaxes and misinformation.

In a statement, Pentagon spokeswoman Sue Gough confirmed that AARO had briefed lawmakers and intelligence officials on "fake classified program materials relating to extraterrestrials" and said more findings would be included in an upcoming report. "The department is committed to releasing a second volume of its Historical Record Report, to include AARO's findings on reports of potential pranks and inauthentic materials," Gough stated.

While many within the military dismissed the alien theories as tools of deception, others, both inside and outside the Pentagon, came to believe them as true. Now, decades later, the result is a feedback loop of secrecy, suspicion, and myth that even those who started it can no longer control.