List of UFO shootdowns
The following is a list of alleged incidents in which an unidentified aerial phenomenon (UAP) or exotic vehicle was deliberately disabled or destroyed by human-operated weapons or energy systems. Beyond these specific incidents, Steven Greer's vetted witnesses describe an ongoing classified U.S. program capable of inducing UAP crashes using scalar or electromagnetic systems housed within special access programs, resulting in multiple undisclosed domestic recovery events. See also List of UFO recoveries for instances where the downed craft was subsequently retrieved.
| Date | Location | Description | Source(s) |
|---|---|---|---|
| June 1945 | Trinity, New Mexico | The alleged crash near San Antonio, New Mexico, has been attributed by researchers including Paola Harris and Jacques Vallée to a collision with a radar-adjacent radio tower, suggesting early electromagnetic interference capability rather than a deliberate shootdown; nonetheless it established the pattern of U.S. military radar installations as hazards to UAP propulsion systems. | [1] |
| July 1947 | Roswell, New Mexico | The Roswell incident has been attributed by some researchers, including witnesses cited by Steven Greer, to a deliberate shootdown using classified electromagnetic technology developed by 1947, rather than a mechanical failure.[2] Philip Corso stated that by the 1950s the U.S. military had active radar tracking systems at facilities like White Sands Missile Range that were capable of impeding or forcing down UAP, and that an extraterrestrial being at the site explicitly requested that radar be shut down as a condition of departure.[3] | [2][3] |
| May 1953 | Kingman, Arizona | The Kingman crash has been alleged by witnesses to involve a craft brought down by directed intervention rather than accidental failure. | [4] |
| 1997 | Peru | Jonathan Weygandt described being deployed to a crash site in Peru following a shootdown or forced-landing event involving U.S. military assets. | [5] |
| February 2023 | North American airspace | The U.S. military shot down a Chinese high-altitude balloon and at least three other unidentified aerial objects over North American airspace using AIM-9X Sidewinder missiles fired from F-22 Raptors. The three additional objects — described by officials as cylindrical, octagonal, and car-sized respectively — were never publicly identified. The incidents prompted AARO (All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office) involvement. | [6] |
| February 2026 | El Paso / Fort Bliss, Texas | The Pentagon deployed a high-energy laser counter-drone system near Fort Bliss in El Paso, Texas, and used it to shoot down aerial objects, including at least four mylar balloons misidentified as threats and at least one actual drone. The test was conducted without notifying the FAA, triggering a ten-day airspace shutdown over El Paso International Airport. The incident was classified as national defense airspace and the government provided different explanations to the public, Congress, and local officials. | [6] |