1 - The Black Vault

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FrornJIIIIIIIIIII .. I
Directorate or.AirStaff 4a1
MINISTRY OF DEFENCE
Room 8245, Main Building, Whitehall, London, SW1A 2HB
Telephone
(Direct dial)
(Switchboard)
(Fax)
(GTN)
Your Reference
Our Reference
D/DAS/64/J
Date
5 July 2001
Dear
Thank you for your letter of 15 June, addressed to Secretariat (Air Stafl)2a, concerning
'unidentified flying objects'. Please note this Department has now changed title to Directorate of
Air Staff 4a, as shown above. We are the focal point within the Ministry of Defence for
correspondence relating to 'UFOs.'
Before I answer the questions contained in your letter, it may be helpful ifi explain that the
Ministry of Defence examines any reports of'unidentified flying objects' it receives solely to
establish whether what was seen might have some defence significance; namely whether there is
any evidence that the United Kingdom's airspace might have been compromised by hostile or
unauthorised air activity. Unless there is evidence of a potential threat to the United Kingdom
from an external military source, and to date no 'UFO' report has revealed such evidence, we do
not attempt to identify the precise nature of each reported sighting. We believe it is possible that
rational explanations, such as aircraft lights or natural phenomena, could be found for them, but it
is not the function of the MOD to provide this kind of aerial identification service. We could not
justify expenditure of public funds on investigations which go beyond our specific defence remit.
With regard to your request for information under the Freedom of Information Act, you may wish
to be aware that the Ministry of Defence operates in accordance with the Code of Practice on
Access to Government Information, which encourages the provision of information unless its
disclosure would, for example, cause harm to defence, invade on an individual's privacy, or if it
would take an unreasonable diversion of resources to respond to a request. Information requested
is supplied wherever possible providing it does not fall under one of the exemptions in the Code.
The Freedom oflnformation legislation has received Royal Assent and is known as the Freedom
of Information Act 2000. It is expected to come into force in Spring 2002, when it will supersede
the Code of Practice on Access to Government Information.
In your letter you seem to be confusing unidentified aircraft tracks detected on radar with ' UFOs' .
The fact that the precise identity of an aircraft cannot be established does not render it a UFO.
There are a number of reasons why some aircraft cannot be positively identified and, in these
instances, assumptions have to be made. In the vast majority of cases, unidentified aircraft can be
assumed to be friendly by virtue of behavioural characteristics. Any unidentified aircraft acting
suspiciously would normally be intercepted. Please bear this in mind when reading the following
answers to your questions.