Minot AFB UFO Encounter (UFOs Seeing is Believing)

Minot AFB UFO Encounter
Oct. 24, 1968
North Dakota

On October 24, 1968, at Minot Air Force Base in North Dakota, both ground-based personnel and airborne crews (a B-52 bomber crew) reported seeing an unidentified flying object. What made this case stand out is that it involved simultaneous radar and visual confirmation, plus the presence of Strategic Air Command (SAC) nuclear weapons, which raised eyebrows.
Minot AFB at the time was a key component of the U.S. nuclear deterrent force — it housed nuclear-tipped ICBMs (Minuteman missiles) and B-52 bombers.

• Around 2:15 a.m., ground personnel reported seeing a glowing object hovering near the missile sites, described as very bright, rapidly changing colors (from white, to green, to orange).

• Security teams were dispatched to investigate, and they too visually confirmed the object.

• Meanwhile, a B-52 bomber on a training mission was returning to Minot AFB. The crew reported visual contact with a bright object, which they at first thought was a tower beacon — until they realized it was moving in ways that no conventional aircraft or beacon could.

• The object was also tracked on radar — both ground radar and onboard the B-52. It reportedly maneuvered at high speeds and with abrupt changes of direction.

• When the B-52 crew attempted to approach the object, it paced alongside the bomber at one point, staying outside normal engagement range.

• The UFO was visible for a total of around 45 minutes.

The Air Force investigation (Project Blue Book)
The incident was investigated under Project Blue Book, the official U.S. Air Force program tasked with evaluating UFO reports.

The official conclusion?
Blue Book labeled the incident as "an astronomical phenomenon" — likely the star Sirius or another celestial body distorted by atmospheric effects and temperature inversions.
However, this explanation has been criticized by researchers and even some involved personnel as implausible, given the radar data, visual confirmations, and proximity to sensitive nuclear facilities.