Archive / disclosure

Disclosure: the official record

What governments, legislatures, militaries, space agencies and courts have done about unidentified aerial phenomena, in date order, each entry resting on its document. Every nation that has acted. Newest first.100 entries since 1946.

Country All US 61GB 9CA 6BR 5FR 3JP 3MX 2AR 1BE 1CL 1DK 1ES 1NZ 1PE 1SE 1SU 1UY 1VA 1
Kind All Programme 25Report 19Release 15Law 12Hearing 12Statement 11Other 2FOIA release 2Court 2

2000s

1990s

FR Report COMETA (retired officers and officials; published privately)

The COMETA report, "UFOs and Defence: what should we prepare for?", is published

In July 1999 COMETA, a French association of former auditors of the Institut des Hautes Etudes de Defense Nationale and qualified experts, published "UFOs and Defence: what should we prepare for?" in a special issue of the magazine VSD. The copy on file is an English translation held by NASA, accompanied by a covering letter from Carol Rosin dated 30 April 2001. The report reviews French and foreign cases, the work of GEPAN and SEPRA, and hypotheses for the phenomena. It states that the hypothesis of craft of nonterrestrial origin "cannot be ruled out" and that, if correct, it would be loaded with consequences for defence. It recommends informing pilots, the public and decision-makers, and developing SEPRA's work.

1 document·5 points
  • The report states it originally appeared in a special issue of the magazine VSD published in France in July 1999.
  • It traces the subject to a 1976 IHEDN committee chaired by General Blanchard of the Gendarmerie Nationale, whose recommendations led to the creation of GEPAN, precursor to SEPRA within CNES.
  • Part 1 presents three testimonies of French pilots, five aeronautical cases worldwide, three ground sightings and four close encounters in France, which the authors say have not been explained.
  • The foreword is by Professor Andre Lebeau, former chairman of CNES, who writes that the report contributes toward stripping the phenomenon of UFOs of its irrational layer.
  • The report proposes giving pilots information on how to act when faced with these phenomena, developing SEPRA's actions, and considering the strategic, political and religious consequences of a possible confirmation of the extraterrestrial hypothesis.

Documents

1970s

The register here is the record's: what a body did, when, with the document. The archive's stories carry the longer reads, and the Latest feed carries this week's official news before it is entered here. Entries from the United Kingdom rest on material under the Open Government Licence v3.