State Department UAP Cable 001, Papua New Guinea, January 28, 1985
▮ AI SYNOPSIS · Sonnet 4.6
This is a three-page diplomatic cable dated January 28, 1985, sent from the U.S. Embassy in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea, to USCINCPAC in Honolulu and copied to multiple recipients including the State Department and Andersen AFB in Guam. It was classified Limited Official Use at the time and released in full under the PURSUE program in 2026. The cable documents an inquiry from Papua New Guinea's National Intelligence Organization regarding aerial sightings over PNG on the evening of January 24, 1985. Observed phenomena included fast-moving objects with lights, contrails, and noise. An Air Niugini pilot near Angoram reported radar returns of high-altitude, high-speed aircraft. Visual sightings described one aircraft traveling north to south at 1900 local and six to eight aircraft traveling south to north.
The cable is notable as a foreign government formally querying the U.S. about unidentified aircraft in its sovereign airspace, with the sightings significant enough to prompt a public meeting attended by the Prime Minister. The Embassy stated it found no record of B-52 overflights or any U.S. aircraft in PNG airspace that night and sought USCINCPAC confirmation. Page 2 contains a partial text truncation, and no response cable is included in this release. The document fits a pattern of Cold War-era ambiguous overflight incidents where conventional military explanations were neither confirmed nor ruled out.
▮ TOP WORDS IN THIS DOCUMENT
This document is a U.S. Department of State diplomatic cable from the U.S. Embassy in Port Moresby, Papua New Guinea to USCINCPAC (United States Indo-Pacific Command) at Honolulu, HI on January 28, 1985.
The cable reports that the U.S. Embassy to Papua New Guinea received an inquiry from the host nation’s intelligence services regarding reports of high-altitude, high-speed aircraft in Papua New Guinean airspace on the evening of January 24, 1985. The cable refers to a representative of the local intelligence services as “NIO,” or National Intelligence Officer, throughout. The NIO relayed to U.S. diplomatic personnel that residents had been “frightened by overflights, which led to the provincial premier’s calling of a public meeting on the subject.” The NIO also stated there had been “various reports of unidentified aerial phenomena the night of January 24, including fast-moving objects with lights, contrails, and noise.” The NIO assessed these reports as credible based upon the testimony of an Air Niugini pilot who said that their radar had “picked up aircraft flying south to north at high altitude and high speed.”
The cable concludes by characterizing the information provided by the NIO as “very sketchy.” It also sought clarification from U.S. INDOPACOM on the presence or absence of U.S. military aircraft within Papua New Guinean airspace on the night in question.
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85 PORT MORESBY 199
Jan 28, 1985 / 280000Z Jan 85
AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY
USCINCLANT ROUTINE
Unknown
MARR, PP
n/a
PAPUA NEW GUINEA INQUIRY RE OVERFLIGHTS
LIMITED OFFICIAL USE
PAGE 01
ACTION PM-11
PORT M 00199 280704Z
INFO OCT-00 COPY-01 ADS-00 INR-10 SS-00 CIAE-00 DODE-00
NSAE-00 EAP-00 /022 W
-_--026406 280708Z /12
O 280653Z JAN 85
FM AMEMBASSY PORT MORESBY
TO USCINCPAC HONOLULU HI IMMEDIATE
INFO 43SW ANDERSON AFB GU IMMEDIATE
SECSTATE WASHDC 1694
AMEMBASSY CANBERRA
AMEMBASSY JAKARTA
LIMITED OFFICIAL USE PORT MORESBY 00199
USCINCPAC FOR J3 AND POLAD
43 SW FOR DONO
STATE FOR EAP/PIA AND PM/RSA
E.O. 12356: N/A
TAGS: MARR, PP
SUBJECT: PAPUA NEW GUINEA INQUIRY RE OVERFLIGHTS
1. EMBASSY JANUARY 28 RECEIVED INFORMAL INQUIRY FROM
PNG NATIONAL INTELLIGENCE ORGANIZATION (NIO) CONCERNING
REPORTED SIGHTINGS OF HIGH-ALTITUDE, HIGH-SPEED AIRCRAFT
OVER PNG DURING EVENING JANUARY 24. MATTER CAME TO
NIO'S ATTENTION WHEN ITS OFFICER IN WEWAK REPORTED LOCAL
RESIDENTS HAD BEEN FRIGHTENED BY OVERFLIGHTS, WHICH LED
TO THE PROVINCIAL PREMIER'S CALLING OF A PUBLIC MEETING
ON THE SUBJECT ATTENDED BY THE PRIME MINISTER WHO WAS
WEEKENDING IN HIS ELECTORAL DISTRICT.
Released in Full
John Powers, Acting-Director
US Department of State
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2. NIO SAID THERE HAVE BEEN VARIOUS REPORTS OF
UNIDENTIFIED AERIAL PHENOMENA THE NIGHT OF JANUARY 24,
INCLUDING FAST-MOVING OBJECTS WITH LIGHTS, CONTRAILS,
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PORT M 00199 280704Z
AND NOISE. THE REPORT IN WHICH NIO PLACES SOME CREDENCE
ORIGINATED WITH AN AIR NIUGINI PILOT WHO HAD JUST TAKEN
OFF FROM WEWAK ENROUTE PORT MORESBY. PILOT SAID HIS
RADAR PICKED UP AIRCRAFT FLYING SOUTH TO NORTH AT HIGH
ALTITUDE AND HIGH SPEED WHEN HE WAS OVER ANGORAM (VIC 4
DEG S, 144 DEG E). SEVERAL VISUAL SIGHTINGS OF
CONTRAILS WERE ALSO REPORTED FROM VARIOUS POINTS AROUND
PNG, OF ONE AIRCRAFT MOVING NORTH TO SOUTH AT 1900 LOCAL
AND OF SIX-EIGHT AIRCRAFT TRAVELING SOUTH TO NORTH AT
3. BASED ON OUR RECORDS AND TELCON WITH 43SW, WE HAVE
TOLD NIO WE KNEW OF NO B-52 OVERFLIGHTS AND NO U.S.
AIRCRAFT IN PNG AIRSPACE ON JANUARY 24.
4. ALTHOUGH INFORMATION PROVIDED US ON THESE SIGHTINGS
IS VERY SKETCHY AND SOURCES WERE UNSURE OF THE
DIRECTIONS IN WHICH AIRCRAFT WERE FLYING, WE WOULD MOST
APPRECIATE CONFIRMATION OF PARA 3 ABOVE AND ANY LIGHT
YOU MIGHT THROW ON THESE REPORTS.
LIMITED OFFICIAL USE
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