Malmstrom Romeo-29 incident (1974)
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 7
| Date | March 1974 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Beings & bodies (topic), Nuclear & missile sites (topic), Military encounters (topic) |
| People | Robert Hastings |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 78 |
| Year | 1974 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 1974 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 6 |
The Romeo-29 incident is an account, given anonymously by a former Minuteman missile launch officer to researcher Robert Hastings, of a glowing object said to have hovered over a missile silo at Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, in 1974 while the launch control crew received indications that the missile was launching. A former launch officer who analysed the story argues the indications point to an equipment fault, and no record of the event has been found.[1][2]
The account
The source said he was a young deputy crew commander on alert in a launch control centre of the 564th Strategic Missile Squadron, probably in March 1974, between 8 and 10 p.m. The Romeo-29 launch facility reported security alarms, and a security team sent to the site reported a large, self-luminous object hovering over it whose shape could not be made out.[1][2]
According to the account, the crew's console then showed "Launch Enable"; they sent an "Inhibit" command and the site went offline, but it restarted on its own. "Launch Enable" appeared again, a second inhibit command failed, and the console went on to show "Launch Commanded", "Launch in Process" and "Missile Away". The crew believed the missile had launched, but security reported it was still in its silo. The object then rose straight up at high speed. The security team reportedly saw F-106 interceptors in the area, the source later heard that NORAD radar controllers had tracked the object and the jets, and ground electronics at the site were said to have been "fried" by a power surge, though the missile's guidance system was intact.[1][2]
Analysis
Former Minuteman launch officer Tim Hebert, who writes on missile systems, notes that a single launch crew could not launch a missile: launch required votes from two control centres or an airborne command post, and the launch code was split between the missile and a separate plug. He argues the sequence fits false indications, such as those produced in a ground-system test or by a fault in the launch facility's logic equipment. He found no first-hand accounts from the security team, no security or NORAD logs and no documented radar tracking, and notes the UFO report may be second- or third-hand. He concludes that the launch-control indications are plausible but the UFO part is unsupported.[2]
Context
Malmstrom's best-known case is the March 1967 Echo Flight incident, when ten missiles went offline, which some former officers link to UFOs; a NORAD log of November 1975 also records unidentified objects near Malmstrom's missile sites.[3][4]
People and topics
- Malmstrom Air Force Base — A Montana Minuteman missile base linked to UFO reports.
- Robert Hastings — Researcher who has collected accounts of UFOs at nuclear weapons sites, author of UFOs and Nukes.
- NORAD — The U.S.–Canadian air defence command.
- Malmstrom missile incidents — The 1967 shutdowns of Minuteman missiles at Malmstrom AFB linked to UFO reports.
- Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
On the Timeline
- Vallée meets Kit Green (1974) (11 February 1974) — Vallée meets Kit Green, who describes officials interested in UAP.
- Contractor guard breakdown claim (1974) (April 1974) — A defense contractor employee claims a guard broke down after seeing a non-human being.
See every 1974 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- Robert Hastings, "UFO activated one of his ICBMs — twice" · ufohastings.com · archived copy
- Tim Hebert, "UFO attempts to launch Malmstrom missile", Minuteman Missile blog (Dec 2014) · timhebert.blogspot.com · archived copy
- Malmstrom UFO incident — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- "Unidentified flying objects over Malmstrom AFB, November 1975", The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- Fighters chased UFOs at Malmstrom AFB — Robert Hastings · ufohastings.com · archived copy
- Robert Hastings (ufologist) — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
Further reading
- Project Blue Book — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
- Project Blue Book records — National Archives · archives.gov · archived copy
- Project Blue Book files — The Black Vault · theblackvault.com · archived copy
- U.S. congressional hearings on UFOs — Wikipedia · en.wikipedia.org · archived copy
This page was last edited on 29 October 2026. Articles are written in our own words from the sources listed under References; disputed claims are attributed to the people who made them.
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