About Belgian UFO wave
The Belgian UFO wave was a series of reported sightings of large, dark, triangular objects with lights in the skies over Belgium, beginning near Eupen on 29 November 1989 and continuing into the 1990s. The events gained significant attention due to official involvement from the Belgian gendarmerie and Air Force, which famously scrambled two F-16 fighters on the night of 30–31 March 1990 after receiving simultaneous radar and visual reports. While the civilian investigation group SOBEPS concluded the objects were extraterrestrial, and some officials maintained parts of the wave remained unexplained, skeptics attributed the sightings to helicopters, celestial bodies, radar artifacts, and socia
- Also known as
- Belgian wave, Belgian triangles
- Date
- 29 November 1989 – April 1990 (reports continued into the 1990s)
- Place
- Belgium, beginning at Eupen
- Reports
- About 2,000–2,600 collected by SOBEPS
- Key event
- F-16 scramble on the night of 30–31 March 1990
- Investigators
- SOBEPS (Auguste Meessen), Belgian Air Force
- Location
- around Eupen, Belgium
- Coordinates
- 50.6300, 6.0300 ↗
The full story, section by section
The story of Belgian UFO wave in 7 parts. Tap any part to read it in full.
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The first sighting at EupenOn a clear night in November 1989, near the town of Eupen in eastern Belgium, about seven miles from the German border, two gendarmes on routine patrol, Heinrich Nicoll and Hubert von Montigny, radioed their dispatcher to report a strange object in the sky.Read this part →
Eupen, eastern Belgium, where the wave began in November 1989. · Photo: Horst J. Meuter, CC BY-SA 4.0, Wikimedia Commons -
The wave of reportsThe story quickly reached SOBEPS (Société belge d'étude des phénomènes spatiaux, the Belgian Society for the Study of Space Phenomena), a group of UFO enthusiasts.Read this part → Illustration drawn for this site — not a photograph.
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The F-16 scramble of 30–31 March 1990The fullest account of the peak event is a Belgian Air Force report compiled by Major Lambrechts, drawing on the records of the Air Force units involved and on the reports of gendarmerie patrols.Read this part →
A Belgian Air Force F-16, the type scrambled from Beauvechain on 30–31 March 1990. · Photo: Dave_S. from Witney, England, CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons -
The Petit-Rechain photographIn April 1990 — on 4 April, according to Le Figaro — an anonymous photographer at Petit-Rechain took a slide showing a black triangle against an unidentifiable background, with a light at each corner and one in the centre.Read this part →
Image of an ostensible UFO taken during the Belgian UFO wave of 1990. It was widely broadcast in the media at the time, only to be admitted as fake by its author in 2011. · Photo: J.S. Henrardi, Public domain, Wikimedia Commons -
SOBEPS's conclusionsAbout a year after the main events SOBEPS published a book, Vague d'OVNI sur la Belgique ("UFO wave over Belgium"), with Meessen as lead author; it remains the main source for most later accounts.Read this part → Illustration drawn for this site — not a photograph.
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Skeptical explanationsIn 1992 the Belgian researcher Marc Hallet published La Vague OVNI belge ou le triomphe de la désinformation, arguing that SOBEPS had spread misinformation through the media and that the wave was mostly a mass delusion following the patter…Read this part → Illustration drawn for this site — not a photograph.
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"A residue we can't explain"Patrick Ferryn, president of SOBEPS, told The Telegraph that most sightings would have banal explanations but that there was a residue that could not be explained.Read this part → Illustration drawn for this site — not a photograph.
Key people
The people at the centre of the story — witnesses, investigators, officials and sceptics:
- Philip KlassPhilip Julian Klass was an American aviation and aerospace journalist who became widely known as a leading UFO skeptic and debunker. Working as a senior editor for Aviation Week & Space Technology, h…
- Leslie KeanLeslie Kean is an American investigative journalist and author known for her reporting on unidentified flying objects and her 2010 best-selling book on the subject. She co-authored a 2017 New York Ti…
- Christopher MellonChristopher Karl Mellon is an American former Senate intelligence staffer and Defense Department official who worked on defense and intelligence oversight from 1985 until leaving government service. …
- Robert ByrdRobert Byrd was a long-serving American Democratic politician who represented West Virginia in the U.S. Senate from 1959 until his death in 2010.
- C. Richard D'AmatoC. Richard D'Amato was an American lawyer, Senate staffer, and Navy Reserve captain who worked for Senator Robert C. Byrd for two decades.
- Edgar FouchéEdgar Fouché was an American who claimed in 1998 that he was a former Area 51 employee and that the United States had built a secret triangular aircraft using reverse-engineered extraterrestrial tech…
Related cases & events
Events and sightings linked to Belgian UFO wave:
🗓️ Event · 6 min readBritish embassy report on triangles (1992)In December 1992, the British air attaché in Washington sent a letter to the Ministry of Defence detailing American reactions to renewed British questions about the rumored secret "Aurora" aircraft and related triangular craft sightings. The letter explained …
🗓️ Event · 14 min readVallée meets D'Amato on secret programs (1992)On May 22, 1992, UFO researcher Jacques Vallée met with C. Richard D'Amato, a Senate Appropriations Committee counsel. According to Vallée's published journals, D'Amato stated that mysterious triangular aircraft seen over Belgium were human-made, built throug…
📅 Year · 4 min read1990 in UFO historyThis article covers UFO and UAP events from 1990, focusing on government programs, sightings, and claims about beings and bodies. Major occurrences included the continuation of the Belgian UFO wave tracked by NATO radar, reports of secret aircraft in the Unit…
📅 Year · 4 min read1989 in UFO historyThe year 1989 involved multiple claims and events related to UFOs, government secrecy, and alleged extraterrestrial technology. Key occurrences included Bob Lazar claiming he worked on alien spacecraft near Area 51 and the start of the Belgian UFO wave featur…Programs, organizations & documents
The official programs, groups and papers involved:
🏢 Organization · 13 min readU.S. Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the air service branch of the U.S. armed forces that became an independent service in September 1947.
🏢 Organization · 7 min readUK Ministry of DefenceThe UK Ministry of Defence is the government department responsible for UK defence policy and the British Armed Forces. For about sixty years until November 2009, it also handled public UFO reports through a dedicated desk. The department eventually closed th…Related topics & places
Ideas, terms and places that come up in the story:
📖 Term · 4 min readBlack triangleA black triangle is a type of UFO report describing a large, dark, triangular object usually seen at night with pulsing colored lights at the corners. Numerous sightings have occurred internationally since 1960, including prominent waves in the Hudson Valley,…
📖 Term · 17 min readUnidentified flying objectAn unidentified flying object, or UFO, is an unexplained phenomenon or object seen in the sky, with the modern craze originating in the United States in June 1947. While popular culture often equates UFOs with alien spacecraft, most investigations reveal them…🛸 UFO sightings near Belgian UFO wave
30 sightings on ufos.dev were reported within 150 km. The most-upvoted:
Sightings that mention Belgian UFO wave
More in the encyclopedia
Other articles that link to or mention Belgian UFO wave:
- Edgar Fouché and the TR-3BEdgar Fouché was a retired U.S. Air Force master sergeant who first claimed in 1998 that the military used a secret triangular aircraft called the TR-3B.
- Michigan swamp gas UFO reportsIn March 1966, a widespread wave of UFO sightings occurred across southern Michigan, highlighted by mass sightings near Dexter and Hillsdale involving dozens of residents, students, and law enforceme…
- Roswell incidentThe Roswell incident involves the 1947 recovery of balloon debris from a ranch near Corona and Roswell, New Mexico, which was initially announced as a captured flying disc before being identified as …
- MITRE high-frequency gravitational wave workshopFrom 6 to 9 May 2003, the MITRE Corporation hosted the first international conference on high-frequency gravitational waves in McLean, Virginia. Supporters proposed that these waves could eventually …
- Calvine UFO photographOn 4 August 1990, two young men on the moors above Calvine, Scotland, reportedly saw a large, diamond-shaped object hover silently near a military jet and took six photographs. The negatives were giv…
- David ClarkeDavid William Clarke is a British investigative journalist, folklorist, and associate professor at Sheffield Hallam University. He is known for using Freedom of Information requests to secure the rel…
- Project CondignProject Condign was a secret study of UFO and UAP reports commissioned by the UK Ministry of Defence's Defence Intelligence Staff in the late 1990s. The final three-volume report was delivered in 200…
- Kecksburg incidentThe Kecksburg incident occurred on December 9, 1965, when a brilliant fireball streaked across the sky and residents in Kecksburg, Pennsylvania, reported that an object had crashed in the nearby wood…
- Rendlesham Forest incidentThe Rendlesham Forest incident involved reported sightings of unexplained lights and an alleged craft landing by U.S. Air Force personnel in Rendlesham Forest, Suffolk, England, in late December 1980.
- Gulf Breeze UFO incidentThe Gulf Breeze UFO incident was a series of reported UFO sightings and encounters in Gulf Breeze, Florida, between late 1987 and early 1991, primarily initiated by local contractor Ed Walters. Walte…
- Nick Cook's Skunk Works chartIn the late 1990s at Air Force Plant 42 in Palmdale, California, aviation journalist Nick Cook visited Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works and allegedly saw a lineage chart featuring a triangular reconnais…
Questions & answers
What is Belgian UFO wave?
Belgian UFO wave: The Belgian UFO wave was a series of reported sightings of large, dark, triangular objects with lights in the skies over Belgium, beginning near Eupen on 29 November 1989 and continuing into the 1990s. The events gained significant attention due to official involvement from the Belgian gendarmerie and Air Force, which famously scrambled two F-16 fighters on the night of 30–31 March 1990 after receiving simultaneous radar and visual reports. While the civilian investigation group SOBEPS concluded the objects were extraterrestrial, and some officials maintained parts of the wave remained unexplained, skeptics attributed the sightings to helicopters, celestial bodies, radar artifacts, and socia Read: Belgian UFO wave →
Where is Belgian UFO wave?
Belgian UFO wave is in around Eupen, Belgium (about 50.630, 6.030). Read: Belgian UFO wave →
What else is Belgian UFO wave called?
Belgian UFO wave is also known as Belgian wave, Belgian triangles.
Who is Philip Klass?
Philip Klass: Philip Julian Klass was an American aviation and aerospace journalist who became widely known as a leading UFO skeptic and debunker. Working as a senior editor for Aviation Week & Space Technology, he spent decades investigating UFO sightings and arguing that most were misidentifications, natural phenomena, or hoaxes. He helped expose fraudulent documents and was a founding fellow of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry before passing away in 2005. Read: Philip Klass →
Who is Leslie Kean?
Leslie Kean is an American investigative journalist and author known for her reporting on unidentified flying objects and her 2010 best-selling book on the subject. She co-authored a 2017 New York Times story that revealed the Pentagon's secret Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program. Admirers credit her reporting with helping remove the stigma from the subject, while critics argue she has lent respectability to unverified claims. Read: Leslie Kean →
Who is Christopher Mellon?
Christopher Mellon: Christopher Karl Mellon is an American former Senate intelligence staffer and Defense Department official who worked on defense and intelligence oversight from 1985 until leaving government service. After his government career, he became an influential advocate for official government transparency regarding unidentified aerial phenomena. He acknowledged leaking Navy UAP videos to the press and helped shape the legislation that created a 2021 intelligence report and the Pentagon's AARO office. Read: Christopher Mellon →
What was British embassy report on triangles (1992)?
British embassy report on triangles (1992): In December 1992, the British air attaché in Washington sent a letter to the Ministry of Defence detailing American reactions to renewed British questions about the rumored secret "Aurora" aircraft and related triangular craft sightings. The letter explained that U.S. Read: British embassy report on triangles (1992) →
What was Vallée meets D'Amato on secret programs (1992)?
Vallée meets D'Amato on secret programs (1992): On May 22, 1992, UFO researcher Jacques Vallée met with C. Richard D'Amato, a Senate Appropriations Committee counsel. According to Vallée's published journals, D'Amato stated that mysterious triangular aircraft seen over Belgium were human-made, built through an illegal project funded without congressional appropriation, and that intelligence groups actively covered up the data. Read: Vallée meets D'Amato on secret programs (1992) →
What is U.S. Air Force?
U.S. Air Force: The United States Air Force is the air service branch of the U.S. armed forces that became an independent service in September 1947. Read: U.S. Air Force →
What is UK Ministry of Defence?
UK Ministry of Defence: The UK Ministry of Defence is the government department responsible for UK defence policy and the British Armed Forces. For about sixty years until November 2009, it also handled public UFO reports through a dedicated desk. The department eventually closed the UFO desk and released its surviving files to The National Archives after concluding that the sightings posed no military threat and served no defence purpose. Read: UK Ministry of Defence →
What is Black triangle?
Black triangle: A black triangle is a type of UFO report describing a large, dark, triangular object usually seen at night with pulsing colored lights at the corners. Numerous sightings have occurred internationally since 1960, including prominent waves in the Hudson Valley, Belgium, and Phoenix. These sightings have been explained in various ways, such as aircraft in formation, flares, blimps, drones, and a British Ministry of Defence study attributing them to buoyant plasmas. Read: Black triangle →
What is Unidentified flying object?
Unidentified flying object: An unidentified flying object, or UFO, is an unexplained phenomenon or object seen in the sky, with the modern craze originating in the United States in June 1947. While popular culture often equates UFOs with alien spacecraft, most investigations reveal them to be known objects, natural phenomena, hoaxes, or mirages, and no government investigation has ever concluded they are extraterrestrial. Read: Unidentified flying object →
Have UFOs been reported near Belgian UFO wave?
30 sightings on ufos.dev were reported within 150 km of Belgian UFO wave, and 32 mention it by name. Sightings near Belgian UFO wave →