Brilliant Buzzard
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 6
| Date | June 2013 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Government programs (topic) |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 177 |
| Year | 2013 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 2013 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 4 |
"Brilliant Buzzard" is the nickname for a rumoured secret U.S. aircraft of the 1980s and 1990s, sometimes called the "mothership", said to be a large carrier aircraft that launched a smaller vehicle from its back. Its existence has never been confirmed.[1][2]
The rumour
Sketches and model kits based on the rumour show a large aircraft resembling a stretched delta or flying wedge with twin fins, carrying a smaller craft on top. A hobbyist model page notes that the name was mentioned "through various sources in the military" but is very difficult to verify. The "Brilliant" prefix echoed real programmes of the Strategic Defense Initiative, such as Brilliant Pebbles, a planned space-based missile interceptor. According to the testimony, a researcher claimed in 2013 that Brilliant Buzzard had been used to track objects during the SDI era.[2][3]
Aviation Week and Blackstar
The idea of a carrier aircraft launching a small spaceplane circulated for more than a decade, including in a 1992 Aviation Week & Space Technology story by William Scott and on a "Brilliant Buzzard" website last updated in 1997. In March 2006 Aviation Week published Scott's account of "Blackstar", a two-stage-to-orbit system with an SR-3 carrier and a small orbital vehicle. Space historian Dwayne Day criticised the stories for relying on anonymous sources and speculation, arguing that repeated rumours do not prove an aircraft exists.[1]
Status
No aircraft matching the descriptions has ever been officially acknowledged. The aircraft belongs to the lore of secret 1980s aircraft, alongside Aurora and the TR-3B.[1][4]
People and topics
- Strategic Defense Initiative — President Reagan's 1983 missile defence program.
On the Timeline
- ONR intuition and sensemaking research (2012) — The Office of Naval Research studies 'sixth sense' and intuitive decision-making.
- Bill Uhouse (1 November 2013) — A retired Marine captain says he tested exotic aircraft and worked on alien technology.
See every 2013 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- Dwayne A. Day, "Six blind men in a zoo: Aviation Week's mythical Blackstar", The Space Review (Mar 2006) · thespacereview.com · archived copy
- "Brilliant Buzzard — Chris St. Clair" (1/72 model), USAF Special Interest Group · usaf-sig.org · archived copy
- "Star Shield" (PDF), Future Theater · futuretheater.com · archived copy
- Aurora (aircraft) — 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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