Minot AFB — B-52 Radar and Visual UAP Encounter

In the early hours of October 24, 1968, a B-52H bomber returning to Minot AFB was directed by ground radar to investigate an unidentified target over the base's Minuteman ICBM missile field. The B-52 crew made radar contact and observed a large bright object visually. The object descended to approximately 200 feet above the missile launch facilities and radio communications between the aircraft and base were disrupted during the close approach. Ground security teams in the missile field independently reported observing a large glowing object. The B-52 crew tracked the object on airborne radar for approximately 20 minutes. When the object departed, it accelerated and disappeared from radar instantaneously. Project Blue Book classified the case SECRET and formally listed it as 'insufficient data,' but the declassified case files include radar data, the flight crew's sworn statements, and security personnel reports that collectively document a multi-sensor, multi-witness encounter over one of the most sensitive nuclear missile installations in the United States.