Ministry of Defence File: UFOs - Public Correspondence - Persistent Correspondence

This document is a collection of correspondence and internal Ministry of Defence (MOD) files concerning a UFO sighting reported on 5 November 1990. The incident involved a flight of three RAF Tornado GR1 aircraft transiting from the UK to RAF Laarbruch, Germany. During the flight, the aircrew reported encountering an unidentified aerial phenomenon. The correspondence spans several years, primarily between 1996 and 2003, and features a persistent member of the public seeking detailed information about the event, including whether the object was tracked by radar, if it was filmed, and why no formal investigation was conducted. The MOD's consistent position, as articulated in numerous letters, was that the incident did not pose a threat to the integrity of UK airspace and therefore did not warrant a formal investigation. The MOD emphasized that its interest in such reports is strictly limited to identifying potential threats from hostile or unauthorized foreign military activity. The file includes internal discussions among MOD staff regarding how to handle these inquiries, the application of the Data Protection Act, and the destruction of older records in accordance with standard administrative procedures. The correspondence also touches upon broader issues, such as the MOD's policy on UFO reporting, the role of the Secretariat (Air Staff), and the public's interest in UFO phenomena. The document includes copies of the original signal report from 1990, which described the object as having 5 to 6 white steady lights and one blue steady light, and noted that it was not tracked by radar. The MOD maintained that the Tornado crews were not engaged in an operational mission at the time, and that the incident was not considered a flight safety concern. The file concludes with the formal closure of the correspondence case in 2007.