The Malmstrom Missile Shutdowns
A flight of nuclear missiles went offline one morning, and years later an officer said a glowing object was overhead.
What was reported
On 16 March 1967, all ten Minuteman missiles of Echo Flight at Malmstrom Air Force Base in Montana suddenly became unable to launch. An investigation began at once.
Decades later, former launch officer Robert Salas said that around that time, at another flight, missiles had shut down while guards reported a glowing red object hovering over the site. The story became one of the best-known claims of UFOs interfering with nuclear weapons.
Explanations offered
The official investigation, with Boeing, found an electrical pulse in the missiles' equipment caused the Echo shutdown and made changes to stop it happening again. Records from the time do not mention a UFO, and accounts of the second event differ on the date and place.
- When
- March 1967
- Where
- Malmstrom Air Force Base, Montana, USA
- Witnesses
- Missile officers, decades later
- Status
- Disputed
Famous cases are real, widely reported events. Each file sets out what witnesses said and the explanations that have been offered, without taking a side.