Unidentified Flying Object Reported near Puerto Rico, 1965

This Central Intelligence Agency file, dated 1 February 1965, holds a memorandum from the Assistant Director (Special Activities) to the Assistant Director for Scientific Intelligence. It concerns a UFO reported near Puerto Rico during 18 to 24 November 1964. A Navy command had identified the object as a YF-12A, but the memo says ONI was persuaded it was not one. It asks OSI to analyze the Navy's radar film. A February 1965 reply concludes the object was probably a delta-wing fighter with speeds reported above Mach 3.

From the source: Release of 2026-08-07 Incident: 2/1/65, Caribbean Sea. Released with redactions. 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. 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.

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