Exmouth: Black object near naval base
US Navy Lt. Cmdr. M. and fire captain William Gordon Lynn observed a large black object hovering west of North West Cape base before it accelerated north. This occurred amid a DEFCON III alert during the Yom Kippur War.
Background
Witness Accounts
At 19:15, Lt. Cmdr. M. was driving south from the Naval Communication Station Harold E. Holt along Murat Road when he noticed a large black object 5 miles to the west at 2,000 feet. It was at first stationary at 20° elevation, subtended about 0.5°, and showed no sound, exhaust, or trail. After 20–25 seconds it accelerated extremely rapidly to the north and disappeared at 45–50° elevation.
Second Observer
At 19:20, William Gordon Lynn, an Australian civilian and US Navy fire captain, saw a large stationary black object in the clear sky with a pulsating or rotating halo around its middle. He watched it for 4 minutes and estimated 30 feet across at 1,000 feet above hills west of the base, before it disappeared rapidly to the north.
Context and Significance
The same day, the base sent a DEFCON III warning to conventional and nuclear forces because of an NSA false alarm about a Soviet build-up during the Yom Kippur War. The sighting close to the sensitive NSA station caused military concern; no explanation was found. (Sources: NICAP, Chalker IUR 1986, FSR 1986, Good, Swords, Coulthart 2023, Powell, Clark).