What did the declassified documents reveal?

Cold open. This is a record from Project One Hundred Seventy‑Three, a United States Air Force observation card dated twenty‑second June, nineteen‑sixty. The document originates from Greenville Air Force Base in Mississippi and is notable for its description of an unidentified aerial phenomenon observed by a control tower operator. Provenance. The record was released to the public through The Black Vault archive, hosted at archive dot org. The entry does not list a specific Freedom of Information Act case number, but the document was made available as part of the archive’s digitization of declassified Air Force records. The declassification authority is indicated as the United States Air Force, with the document marked as confidential but subsequently cleared for public release. The document. Project One Hundred Seventy‑Three, Record Card One. Date: seventeen June, nineteen‑sixty. Date‑time group, local Greenwich Mean Time, eighteen thirty‑two eight two. Photos: none. Observation length: not given. Brief summary of sighting. Location: Greenville Air Force Base, Mississippi. Type of observation: visual, unknown. Source: military. Number of objects: one. Course: ground. Observations: unknown. Conclusions: probable balloon; possibly balloon; probable aircraft; possibly aircraft; probable astronomical; possibly astronomical. Intercept data for evaluation: unknown. Comments: Very large yellow ball with broken tail which had a green fringe, turning to bright yellow‑white as it approached the horizon where it burned out. Description is typical of a A‑T‑I‑C Form Three‑Three‑Nine, CRBV thirty‑six, I‑B‑P sixty‑three. Twenty‑second June, nineteen‑sixty. United States Air Force, Confidential Message AFCIN‑IB, reference number six zero nine twenty, cite A‑two‑five‑U. At thirty‑three hundred twenty‑eight, eighteen June, nineteen‑sixty, Sergeant PCY H. Wubker reported to the tower operator of the two thousand twenty‑two‑one Airborne Command and Control System detachment at Greenville Air Force Base. The report reads: “Sighted an object at one hundred fifty‑three degrees from control tower, traveling east to west, descending at approximately a zero point seven five degree angle. Object was very large yellow ball. Tail had green fringe and was broken initially, turning to bright yellow‑white as it approached the horizon where it burned out. Observer states that this sighting was different from the many meteors and other phenomena he has seen.” The record concludes with a notation of the chain of custody: “United States Air Force for AFCIN‑IB, WPAFB Ohio, L‑G Hancom Field, Mass, for projects Space Track, Moon Dust. Reference to United States Air Force Confidential Message AFCIN‑IB I six zero nine twenty, cite A‑two‑five‑U, at thirty‑three hundred twenty‑eight, eighteen June, nineteen‑sixty.” Context. No additional agency commentary accompanies this record in the released file. The United States Air Force’s archival description simply identifies the entry as a…

Why was this case declassified?

This material was released by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked on this page so the citation chain is auditable.

Declassified Case File

◆ BLUF — The short version

Cold open. This is a record from Project One Hundred Seventy‑Three, a United States Air Force observation card dated twenty‑second June, nineteen‑sixty. The document originates from Greenville Air Force Base in Mississippi and is notable for its description of an unidentified aerial phenomenon observed by a control tower operator.

Agency: Central Intelligence Agency (CIA)
Date: JUL 18 · 2026
Release: Declassified · U.S. public record (FOIA)
Source document: View the primary source document

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What was Declassified Case File about?: Cold open. This is a record from Project One Hundred Seventy‑Three, a United States Air Force observation card dated twenty‑second June, nineteen‑sixty. The document originates from Greenville Air Force Base in Mississippi and is notable for its description of an unidentified aerial phenomenon observed by a control tower operator.
Why was this case declassified?: This material was released by the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) through the U.S. declassification and Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) process. The originating source document is linked in the case notes above so the citation chain is fully auditable.

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