UFO Nellis Test flight Courtesy of ParanormalTV

In February 1995 the American TV show 'Hard Copy' broadcast a videotape showing an unidentified object flying over a North American military test range. Further footage was shown the following December on the 'Sightings' TV show.ref 1 The videotape had apparently been filmed by a high-tech Air Force surveillance camera at an undisclosed location within the Nellis Air Force Base Bombing and Gunnery Range Complex, Nevada (often referred to simply as the Nellis Test Range.

The videotape is said to have been smuggled out by contractor personnel who had operated tracking stations on the Nellis range. Copies of the videotape were sold to Paramount Studios (producers of 'Hard Copy' and 'Sightings') by a former Air Force employee who worked on the range, although apparently he had not witnessed the object himself.

Two sections of videotape showing the UFO have come to light. The first section was filmed from a location known as S-30, according to the camera's data display. This shows the object initially as an indistinct 'blob' flying in front of a distant mountain range, before it turns and heads towards the camera location. The camera operator struggles to keep the object within shot as it approaches, and it soon becomes clear that it cannot be identified. It looks similar to a blimp, but with four light-coloured 'lobes' and a dark region at the front. As it nears, it turns to face the tracking station for several seconds, as if performing some kind of surveillance, before it turns away and departs. The footage is of special importance because the voices of the camera operators at the tracking station can be heard on the noisy soundtrack. Their bewilderment at the unexpected appearance of the UFO is clearly audible. "What the hell is it?" one of them exclaims; "Where's it come from?" asks another.

The second section of footage was filmed some 40 minutes later, from camera location S-13. This shows the UFO as a small dot on the horizon, moving away from the tracking camera. Although it has less visual impact, the soundtrack to this section is important because the controllers are heard to simulate a missile launch on the object. It remains visible, however, eventually disappearing into the realm of mystery and speculation that surrounds the Nellis Range.

The footage has been studied by both UFO researchers & aviation experts alike, but to date no-one has been able to provide an explanation as to what the object is, how it is propelled or how it is able to perform the manoeuvres it is seen to do.

Having taken place inside the range, the most likely explanation for the UFO would seem to be that it was a top secret 'black project' which for some reason was allowed to fly in full view of the surveillance cameras. However, according to one anonymous source in the 'Sightings' programme, the camera operators are not exposed to such tests of new technologies, the camera lenses being capped and the equipment turned off during such occasions.

The Nellis Range

The Complex is situated some 40 miles North-west of Las Vegas, and comprises around 4,700 square miles of largely desert landscape. It includes the highly restricted areas known as the Nevada Test Site, Tonopah Test Range and the famed Area 51 (Groom Lake). The Range undertakes numerous activities, among which are the training of Air Force pilots in combat exercises and the testing of new aircraft, weapons and other equipment. In the 1950s and '60s the area was used extensively for testing nuclear weapons, which continues today on underground low yield atomic devices. The range was used for the secret development and test flights of, among others, the U-2, SR-71 and Stealth aircraft. The remote location of the range, together with its highly restricted access, ensures that experiments on all types of equipment can be carried out in relative safety and out of the reach of the curious public gaze.

The precise nature of the instrument that recorded the Nellis footage is not clear. The general consensus of opinion amongst researchers is that it was filmed using a tracking camera which was attached to a targeting radar. These radars are used at the Nellis Range as mock enemy targets which air force pilots seek to locate and 'destroy' whilst attempting to remain out of the radar's detection. The 'threat radars', as they are known, operate at wavelengths which they would be expected to use in genuine combat situations, and they are often Soviet made.4 Air Force pilots from the US and other NATO countries frequently take part in 'Flag Exercises' at the Range in which their tactical skills are tested to the full, involving both dogfights and live bombing runs. The aircraft are filmed during the exercises so that the pilots can review the footage at a later stage and assess their performance.