F.E. Warren missile communications outage (2010)
From the UAP Encyclopedia, the open encyclopedia of UFO and UAP history · 🗓️ Event
Contents 6
| Date | 23-24 October 2010 |
|---|---|
| Topics | Nuclear & missile sites (topic), Military encounters (topic) |
| People | Robert Hastings |
| Testimony | Shellenberger testimony, p. 171 |
| Year | 2010 in UFO history |
| Timeline | 2010 on the UAP Timeline |
| Sources | 7 |
On 23 October 2010 F.E. Warren Air Force Base in Wyoming temporarily lost communication with 50 Minuteman III nuclear missiles — about a ninth of the U.S. land-based arsenal. The Air Force blamed a hardware fault. Researcher Robert Hastings later reported claims that a huge cigar-shaped object had been seen over the missile field around that time.[1][2]
The outage
The five launch control centres of the 319th Missile Squadron could not have launched their missiles during the disruption, though the Air Force said a backup system could have. The Air Force said the outage lasted 59 minutes, and Air Force Global Strike Command later attributed it to an improperly installed circuit card in a weapons-system computer. The incident was widely reported and President Obama was briefed.[1][3]
Hastings's sources
Hastings said two active-duty missile technicians at the base, whose identities he kept confidential, reported that personnel had seen one or more huge cigar-shaped craft over the missile field on 23–24 October, which they compared to a First World War Zeppelin without a gondola. A retired missile maintenance technician said he had seen a large, dull-grey object with tapered ends near Cheyenne that morning, at least ten miles away and moving north, and two other retired Air Force sources said their contacts had reported UFO activity in the missile field that autumn. Hastings's sources said the disruption lasted for several hours, not 59 minutes.[2]
Assessment
Hastings did not claim that the object caused the outage, saying no link had been established. The Air Force has not confirmed any UFO connection, and its technical explanation is documented; the sighting claims rest on anonymous sources. The incident raised real concerns about the reliability of nuclear command systems, and Hastings presented it as part of a long pattern of reports at missile bases.[2][3]
People and topics
- F.E. Warren Air Force Base — A Wyoming Minuteman missile base linked to UFO reports.
- Unidentified anomalous phenomena — The U.S. government's current term for unidentified objects in the air, in space and underwater.
- U.S. Air Force — The U.S. military service that ran the official UFO projects from 1947 to 1969.
- Robert Hastings — Researcher who has collected accounts of UFOs at nuclear weapons sites, author of UFOs and Nukes.
- Unidentified flying object — An object in the sky that can't be identified; the older term for UAP.
On the Timeline
- UFOs and Nukes press conference (27 September 2010) — Former military officers hold a press conference about UAP at nuclear weapons sites.
- Hill AFB glowing disc (2010) (15 December 2010) — Two alleged Hill AFB workers report a glowing disc above the flight line.
See every 2010 event on the UAP Timeline →
References
- "Huge UFO sighted near nuclear missiles during October 2010 launch system disruption", Robert Hastings · ufohastings.com · archived copy
- "UFOs visited nuclear weapons sites, former Air Force officers say", History News Network · historynewsnetwork.org · archived copy
- "What's going on in the skies over western air bases?", Montana Pioneer (Aug 2011) · mtpioneer.com · archived copy
- 579th Strategic Missile Squadron Atlas F sites, Walker AFB · atlasmissilesilo.com · archived copy
- theatlantic.com · theatlantic.com · archived copy
- nicap.org · nicap.org · archived copy
- ufohastings.com · ufohastings.com · 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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