NORAD Elmendorf JAL 1628 Support Radar 1986

The November 17, 1986 JAL Flight 1628 encounter is extensively documented from the civilian aviation side, but the parallel NORAD military radar documentation is equally significant. Elmendorf Air Force Base's Regional Operational Control Center — part of the Alaskan NORAD Region — tracked the unidentified contacts in Alaskan airspace for the same 50-minute period coinciding with JAL 1628's observations. The ROCC operators and Alaskan NORAD Region maintained radar records. Following FAA investigation, NORAD provided limited information to the FAA but retained its own radar records. Partial NORAD radar data was later obtained through FOIA requests and showed the contacts tracked independently from the civilian FAA radar, providing an additional layer of military radar confirmation separate from Anchorage ARTCC. The NORAD confirmation of UAP tracks in sovereign US airspace for an extended 50-minute period is one of the few cases in the public record where NORAD tracking independently confirmed a civilian aviation UAP encounter.