Ministry of Defence UFO Correspondence File D/DAS/64/3

This document is a compilation of correspondence and internal administrative records from the Ministry of Defence (MOD) Directorate of Air Staff, covering the period from 2004 to 2005, with some references to earlier incidents dating back to 1979. The primary function of the Directorate of Air Staff, as articulated throughout the correspondence, is to act as the focal point for public inquiries regarding Unidentified Flying Objects (UFOs). The MOD's stated policy is that it does not investigate UFO sightings for the purpose of identifying the objects themselves, but rather to determine if there is any evidence of a threat to the United Kingdom's airspace from hostile or unauthorised military activity. The correspondence reveals a consistent pattern in the MOD's responses to the public: they maintain that they have no expertise in 'UFO/flying saucer' matters, remain open-minded regarding the existence of extraterrestrial life, and have found no evidence to substantiate the existence of such phenomena. The file includes numerous exchanges with members of the public, researchers, and media organisations, such as ITV West, regarding specific sighting reports. These reports often involve requests for information on military radar, scrambling procedures, and the potential for secret military operations. The MOD consistently directs inquirers to the National Archives for historical records and explains that they do not maintain logs of UFO sightings, but rather file them as correspondence. A significant portion of the file is dedicated to addressing inquiries about a 1997 sighting near the residence of former Home Secretary Michael Howard in Kent. The MOD, in coordination with the Home Office and Kent County Constabulary, repeatedly confirms that there was no security incident at the residence on the date in question. The file also contains internal administrative documents, such as 'Treat Official Correspondence' forms, which highlight the MOD's internal procedures for handling public inquiries under the Freedom of Information Act, which came into force in January 2005. Additionally, the file includes technical assessments of photographic evidence submitted by the public, with the MOD's imagery analysts concluding that there is insufficient data to determine the nature of the objects in the photographs. The document also includes a 1979 Home Office circular regarding 'Satellite Accidents,' which outlines contingency plans for dealing with the potential crash of a nuclear-powered satellite in the UK, clarifying that this was a separate matter from UFO reports.