Ministry of Defence File D/DAS/10/2/8/13: Information Management and Freedom of Information Requests

This registered file from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) documents the administrative handling of various Freedom of Information (FOI) requests submitted between 2000 and 2005 regarding Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) and historical UFO policy. The file contains extensive correspondence between members of the public, researchers, and the MOD's Directorate of Air Staff. A central theme of the correspondence is the search for the 'DSI/JTIC Report No. 7' on Unidentified Flying Objects, produced in 1952. Researchers repeatedly questioned the MOD regarding the report's location, citing evidence from 1967 internal memos that the report had been 'recovered' by the Defence Intelligence Staff (DI55). The MOD consistently responded that despite thorough searches of closed files, the report could not be located and was presumed lost to the passage of time. The file also includes detailed responses to specific FOI requests concerning UFO sightings in Lincolnshire, Wales, and West Yorkshire, as well as inquiries about the 1997 Sheffield 'sonic event' and the 1980 Rendlesham Forest incident. The MOD's standard response to these inquiries was that it does not investigate UFO sightings, as they are of no defence significance, and that records are maintained only to ensure UK airspace integrity. The file provides insight into the MOD's internal procedures for managing historical records, the application of the 30-year rule for public release, and the challenges of retrieving specific intelligence documents from the mid-20th century. It also contains technical data regarding satellite debris decay, specifically concerning the Russian Cosmos 749 rocket body in December 1980, which was frequently cited by researchers as a potential explanation for UFO sightings during that period.