Minot AFB — B-52 Intercept and Ground Team UAP 1966

On October 24, 1966, one of the most significant and multi-witness UAP events in Cold War military history unfolded over Minot Air Force Base, North Dakota — home to SAC Minuteman ICBMs and B-52 bombers. Beginning at 3am, sixteen Air Police security personnel on the flight line and missile field reported a large luminous disc performing maneuvers over the restricted nuclear weapons storage area. A B-52 crew airborne over the base confirmed a radar contact. The base's ground radar also tracked the unidentified object. Launch Control Officers at the missile sites reported their UHF communications interrupted during the incursion. The craft was observed hovering, moving slowly, and then accelerating to high speed before disappearing. Despite more than a dozen independent witnesses and radar confirmation, Project Blue Book classified the incident as psychological misidentification. Documents released under FOIA decades later showed the investigation was handled at the highest SAC command levels, and the witness testimonies were far more detailed than the official record reflected.