Royal Air Force
The United Kingdom's air and space force, known as the Royal Air Force (RAF), was established on April 1, 1918, during the final stages of World War I. As the world's first independent air force, the RAF was created by combining the Royal Flying Corps (RFC) and the Royal Naval Air Service (RNAS).
The Royal Air Force (RAF), the United Kingdom's aerial warfare branch, has had its share of UFO sightings and encounters throughout its history. While the RAF's involvement in UFO investigations has not been as extensive as that of the U.S. military, there have been several noteworthy incidents and periods of interest.
1950s and 1960s
During the early years of the Cold War, both the United States and the United Kingdom experienced a wave of UFO sightings. The RAF, like its American counterparts, investigated many of these incidents to assess potential threats to national security or to identify advanced foreign technologies.
Project Condign
From 1997 to 2000, the UK Ministry of Defence (MoD) conducted a secret study called "Project Condign" to assess the UFO phenomenon from an intelligence and defense perspective. The final report, which was declassified in 2006, included an analysis of RAF radar data and pilot sightings.
The National Archives release
In a series of releases between 2008 and 2013, the UK's National Archives made public thousands of pages of previously classified UFO files, many of which involved RAF personnel and installations.
2000s and Today
In recent years, the RAF, like other military branches worldwide, has been more focused on emerging threats and advanced technologies rather than UFO investigations. However, the historical records show that the RAF has dealt with its fair share of unexplained aerial phenomena throughout its history.
