The couple observed the object for a short while, which ML estimated to be a

few minutes. He had gotten out of the van and climbed up on the bonnet

(hood) to get a better look. I asked ML to sketch the object. He was able to

do this in a matter of a minute or so. I took him outside to look at the sky

and asked him to give me an approximation of the angle subtended by the

object. That is, it's length as it appeared to the naked eye. The figure

below is the first sketch made by ML. It shows a classic "flying saucer"

shape.

When ML told me where he had stopped the van, I realized that they had been

very close to a sensitive Ministry of Defence (MOD) property! The couple

were just past Church Lane, located on Burghfield Road, as it approached the

M4 motorway, near the city of Reading. The massive object was hovering over

a field adjacent to AWE-the Atomic Weapons Establishment at Aldermaston.

(The facility was previously known as AWRE, the Atomic Weapons Research

Establishment.)

The website for AWE states, "AWE plays a crucial role in the defence of the

United Kingdom, by providing and maintaining the warheads for the country's

nuclear deterrent. We are a centre of scientific and technological excellence, with some of the most advanced research, design and production facilities in the world."

So ML and his wife had spotted what they called a "spaceship" next door to

the Atomic Weapons Establishment. Suddenly, from a hovering position, the

UFO started to move directly over the MOD site, then rapidly towards the M4

motorway. At that point, it was out of sight.

ML is convinced that there must have been many other witnesses because of

the sheer size of the Unidentified Flying Object and its proximity to AWE.

He is certain that the object must have been captured on the innumerable

security cameras surrounding the site. He is also certain that the object

must have been sighted by drivers on the M4 motorway and possibly even

picked up by the cameras that monitor traffic on that busy link between

South Wales and London.

It was later established that the sighting had taken place on the 11th of

September 2004. Whilst ML appreciates that this case is not "news" after so

many years, he would like some kind of official confirmation of his

sighting. He feels that the UFO must have been tracked on radar, been seen

by satellite, and visually observed by many other people.

His wife is equally mystified by the appearance of this object. Her first

reaction was that it was a 'spaceship' and she has not changed her opinion

since. What was it doing hovering over a highly sensitive MOD site? Did the

armed guards at AWE spot it? Where did it come from? Where did it go? These

are questions we have no answers to at the moment.

Ananda Sirisena may be contacted at: awesome931@gmail.com

AFTERWORD
by Robert Hastings:

According to declassified FBI and U.S. Air Force documents, the U.S. equivalent of the AWE facility-the Los Alamos Laboratory in New Mexico-was repeatedly monitored by UFOs, as early as December 1948. Other U.S. nuclear weapons laboratories under apparent surveillance in the early 1950s included Oak Ridge, Tennessee, and Sandia Laboratory, in Albuquerque, New Mexico.

Robert Duvall
Dec 16, 2013

The recent history at Aldermaston is pertinent to activity there. The US

under George W Bush began a program to design and build a Reliable

Replacement Warhead for the aging plutonium warheads currently on missiles

or stockpiled. That program has continued to receive political support under

the Obama administration. In 2009 an FOI request in Britain by Martin

Butcher regarding American use of the hydrodynamic facilities at AWE

Aldermaston resulted in a response that admitted US participation or dual

use going far back in the facilities history. Much of the work was focused

on understanding the aging in warheads, but apparently other work occurred

with regard to Trident warhead replacement. In 2010 the US budget was

approved with funding for RRW as reported in March 2010 in the Weekly

Standard by Michael Anton. Debate had been heated for several years with

nuclear weapons reduction and non-proliferation high on Obama's list. The

Republicans won out. The timing of this collapse of effort to keep the RRW

effort at bay cannot be overlooked. The UAP or UFO activity at Warren AFB as

researched by Robert Hastings was not random and falls into a pattern the

past had revealed regarding warhead and vehicle upgrades. With one exception

- past activity tended to follow the efforts near closing - this was

preemptive and appears to be intended to send a strong message, if such

messages are ever acknowledged. There may have been other related activity

around the US including Washington D.C. Back at Aldermaston protests were

ongoing and much news was centered around the facility and the apparent lack

of transparency regarding plans for the facility. According to an article in

the Daily Mail Dec. 20, 2008, the British Government sold off its one third

holdings in the AWE to Jacobs Engineering, California. The AWE was now

two-thirds owned by American interests with Lockheed Martin owning the other

third. A British firm Serco owns the remaining third. It is not surprising

that UFO have been active at the AWE facility for some time and probably

more so in recent years. Reason plays a role with regard to this activity.

In my studied opinion, it has historically in the UK, France, the USSR,

China, the US, and in any other nuclear states declared or otherwise. It

will continue as long as the condition exists.