RADCAT Case Directory
  Category 9, RADAR  
 
  Preliminary Rating: 5  

                                   
     

RADCAT is a revitalized special project now being conducted jointly by NICAP & Project 1947 with the help and cooperation of the original compiler of RADCAT, Martin Shough, to create a comprehensive listing of radar cases with detailed documentation from all previous catalogues, including UFOCAT and original RADCAT.

Iranian F-4 Phantom Jet Chase, Radar/Visual/E-M/IAD Signal
Sept. 19, 1976
Tehran, Iran

Fran Ridge:
Updated 30 Nov 2016
 Sept. 19, 1976; Tehran, Iran
After midnight. This radar/visual incident is particularly notable for the electromagnetic interference effects on aircraft near the UFO. Two F-4 jet interceptors independently lost instrumentation and communications as they approached, only to have these restored when they left. One F-4 also lost its weapons systems when it was about to fire on the object. The incident is well-documented in a U.S. Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) report with a distribution list that included the White House, Secretary of State, Joint Chiefs of Staff, National Security Agency (NSA), and Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). Various high ranking Iranian military officers directly involved with the events have also gone on public record stating their belief the object was an extraterrestrial craft. As a result of conflicting publicity on this case, UFO researchers sprang into action. According to Barry Greenwood and Lawrence Fawcett, "one individual, Charles Huffer, a teacher at the Berlin American High School in Germany, attempted to locate information from the files of the Secretary of Defense relating to the Iranian report. They denied this request in a July 5, 1977, letter. Huffer appealed the decision and finally obtained the release of a three-page message about the report on August 31, 1977, via the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA)." The details are fascinating.  Case also involves IAD signal (International Air Distress).

Brad Sparks:
NICAP broke the original story in its UFO Investigator newsletter in Nov. 1976.  This was based on the leak of the teletype message by then Major Roland B. Evans who later wrote the DIA Evaluation of the incident. These were followed up by Huffer and others (myself included) by FOIA. The leaked DSP satellite data printout that I discovered has the exact times of events to the second -- and the entry here is not at the time of the Iranian jet case--- so it has nothing to do with it, is not confirmation of the incident.

Bruce Maccabee:
CONCLUSIONS *
The object which was seen and detected on airplane radar has not been identified.  It must have been a source of considerable optical power because of the bright lights.  Of more importance, it appeared to react to the activities of the jets and it appears to have taken defensive measures against the jet by seriously affecting the jet electronics (avionics).  Although the American government claims that there was no investigation following the initial interviews of the pilots, the Iranians indicated that there was further investigation.   It seems reasonable there that there would have been more investigation by the USAF to try to determine the nature of the failure of the electronics.  What could have affected the avionics at a distance of many miles from each jet?  Would intense electromagnetic radiation beamed at a jet cause temporary electronics failure?  How about a beamed “electromagnetic pulse” (EMP)?  (EMP is a high strength, very short pulse of electromagnetic field that can cause temporary or permanent failure of some types of electronics and computer systems.)  

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