CIA-UAP-D022, Unidentified Flying Object Reported near Puerto Rico, 1965
WAR.gov / Department of War PURSUE Release 05
This file contains Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) memoranda exchanged between the Assistant Director for Special Activities (AD/SA) and the Assistant Director for Scientific Intelligence (AD/SI) regarding an incident allegedly involving unidentified aircraft in the vicinity of Puerto Rico.
Document Highlights
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Short overview
CIA memoranda from 1965 exchanged between the Assistant Director for Special Activities and the Assistant Director for Scientific Intelligence about an incident near Puerto Rico on November 19, 1964.
Why this is interesting
A U.S. naval aviator described the object as delta-shaped and roughly the size of a jet fighter, estimating its speed at Mach 3. An AN/SPS-49 radar aboard the guided missile destroyer USS Gyatt measured 3,800 knots. The exchange shows how two offices weighed the case: the Assistant Director for Scientific Intelligence considered a link to foreign reconnaissance conceivable, pointing to missile testing in the Atlantic Fleet Weapons Range as an attractive target, while both offices ruled out domestic experimental aircraft such as the YF-12A OXCART.
Selected passages
- “delta-shaped, about the size of a jet fighter.”
Background
The AD/SI was then-responsible for analyzing foreign scientific advancements and technological threats, such as Soviet nuclear, chemical, and ballistic missile capabilities. The AD/SA managed the CIA’s classified overhead reconnaissance operations, including the deployment of advanced aircraft like the U-2 and A-12 OXCART. Together, these offices ensured the United States could both gather critical intelligence over contested territories and accurately evaluate the technical capabilities of foreign adversaries during the Cold War. The memoranda refer to an incident on November 19, 1964, in which a U.S. Naval aviator described observing an unidentified object as “delta-shaped, about the size of a jet fighter.” The pilot visually estimated the object’s velocity as Mach 3 (approximately 2,200 mph). A corresponding track from an AN/SPS-49 radar system aboard a U.S. Navy guided missile destroyer in the area, USS Gyatt, measured the object’s speed at 3,800 knots (approximately 4,373 mph). The memoranda indicate that, in the opinion of the AD/SI, the object was conceivably associated with foreign intelligence gathering activities, citing active missile testing within the AFWR, or Atlantic Fleet Weapons Range, as being an attractive reconnaissance target. The AD/SA and AD/SI also ruled out domestic experimental aircraft, such as the YF-12A OXCART, as a potential attribution.