Kirtland AFB Nuclear Weapons Storage UAP 1980

On November 3, 1980, Air Force Office of Special Investigations agents stationed at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque documented a disc-shaped craft hovering for approximately 30 minutes over the Manzano Nuclear Weapons Storage Facility — the primary US nuclear weapons storage site in the Southwest. AFOSI produced a classified incident report. The Kirtland/Manzano case became notable for its FOIA accessibility and for the involvement of AFOSI Special Agent Richard Doty, whose subsequent role in UAP investigations became highly controversial. The 1980 Kirtland encounter is part of a documented pattern of UAP incursions at US nuclear weapons facilities in the same year that included the Rendlesham Forest incident at RAF Bentwaters (nuclear-capable aircraft) and continuing Malmstrom activity. The convergence of nuclear facility incursions in 1980 across multiple countries prompted serious classified analysis at the highest levels of US defense intelligence. The AFOSI report on Kirtland/Manzano was later obtained through FOIA.