File 5/6/2/AIR: UFOs - Policy Reports

This document is a collection of correspondence and administrative records from the Royal Australian Air Force (RAAF) Headquarters Support Command, specifically regarding the management of UFO reports and the utilization of satellite prediction data. The file, titled 'UFOs - Policy Reports' (5/6/2/AIR), covers the period from 1967 to 1983. The primary focus of the correspondence is the effort by the RAAF to improve the accuracy of UFO report assessments. To achieve this, the RAAF established a procedure to receive weekly 'Visible Satellite Passes' bulletins from the Weapons Research Establishment (WRE) in Salisbury, South Australia. These bulletins provided data on man-made satellites, which allowed intelligence officers to identify many reported UFO sightings as satellite passes. The file includes internal minute papers discussing the distribution of these bulletins to various RAAF bases, including Laverton, Amberley, Edinburgh Field, Darwin, Fairbairn, Richmond, Townsville, Williamtown, East Sale, and Pearce. Additionally, the RAAF sought information from the Bureau of Meteorology regarding the release times and lighting characteristics of meteorological balloons, as these were also identified as a common source of misidentified aerial phenomena. The file also documents administrative efforts to subscribe to information sheets from the Astronomical Society of Victoria and the Victorian U.F.O. Research Society, reflecting the RAAF's interest in leveraging external expertise to better understand and categorize aerial phenomena. The documents highlight the bureaucratic process of managing these information flows, including issues with mail distribution and the tracking of publications through the RAAF Central Library. The file serves as a record of the RAAF's systematic approach to filtering and identifying UFO reports during the late 1960s.