Australian Department of Defence

The Australian Department of Defence is the federal government body responsible for Australia's military and national security, which has accumulated thousands of UFO sighting reports over decades and whose personnel have been linked to observations of anomalous phenomena, particularly at Northwest Cape near Exmouth, Western Australia.

Australia · National defence and military affairs · Government department

The Australian Department of Defence is the federal government body responsible for Australia’s military capability and national security. In the context of Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena research, the department has attracted attention both for its historical documentation of UAP-related material and for its operational security posture at sensitive facilities. The Australian government holds thousands of UFO sighting reports spanning several decades, many of which were once classified as secret or top secret.²

A report attributed to the Australian Department of Defence and prepared in the 1970s was cited by Luis Elizondo in his account of the UAP disclosure effort. According to Elizondo, the document characterised the United States’ Project Blue Book programme as erecting a “façade of ridicule” to allay public alarm, reduce Soviet exploitation of UAP mass sightings, and serve as cover for a real US programme aimed at developing vehicles that could emulate UAP performance characteristics.¹ The existence of such a report, if accurate, would indicate that Australian defence analysts were conducting independent assessments of US UAP policy and strategy during that period.

Journalist Ross Coulthart has reported on anomalous activity near the Northwest Cape naval communications facility at Exmouth, Western Australia. Coulthart has stated his belief that something anomalous continues to occur at that location, and that the phenomena have been identified and witnessed by a number of people including personnel within the Australian Defence Department.³ During a 2021 documentary investigation, a 7NEWS team that attempted to film around the Northwest Cape base was directed by the Australian Defence Department to withdraw to a position approximately 10 kilometres distant.⁴

The department’s role in the broader international context of Unidentified Aerial Phenomena (UAP) discourse has remained limited in terms of public statements, though its historical records and the operational sensitivities around installations such as Northwest Cape have drawn continued interest from researchers and journalists. Christopher K. Mellon, a former US Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Intelligence, has noted the broader failure of English-speaking nations’ defence establishments to systematically address UAP reporting, a pattern that extends to allied institutions. The Australian Department of Defence has not made formal public disclosures regarding UAP comparable to those undertaken by the US Department of Defense following the Pentagon UAP Video Release 2020.

References (4)

A report prepared by Australia's Department of Defense in the 1970s described Project Blue Book's strategy as a façade of ridicule to reduce public alarm and Soviet exploitation of UAP sightings.
“A report prepared by Australia's Department of Defense in the 1970s summed up the Blue Book strategy as follows: 'By erecting a façade of ridicule, the US hoped to allay public alarm, reduce the possibility of the Soviet[s] taking advantage of UAP mass sightings for either psychological or actual warfare purposes, and act as a cover for the real US program of developing vehicles that emulate UAP performances.'”
Imminent: Inside the Pentagon's Hunt for UFOs Chapter 4, Australia DoD report section
The Australian government holds thousands of UFO sighting reports going back decades, many once classified secret or top secret.
“The Australian government holds thousands of UFO sightings reports going back decades, many of them once classified secret or top secret.”
The UFO Phenomenon | Full Documentary 2021 | 7NEWS Spotlight 00:45:18.1-00:45:31.1
Ross Coulthart believes something anomalous is still happening at Northwest Cape near Exmouth, witnessed by people including personnel in the Australian Defence Department.
“I think that something extremely anomalous and unusual is still happening up at Northwest Cape.... it has also been seen on multiple occasions by people in our Defence Department.”
The UFO Phenomenon | Full Documentary 2021 | 7NEWS Spotlight 00:31:45.7-00:32:12.4
When the 7NEWS team tried to film around the Northwest Cape base, the Australian Defence Department made them leave and pull back to a hill about 10 kilometres distant.
“When we tried to go there and film around the base, the Defence Department kicked us off.... I think we had to pull back to a hill which was about 10 kilometres distant.”
The UFO Phenomenon | Full Documentary 2021 | 7NEWS Spotlight 00:36:16.1-00:36:49.8

Australian Department of Defence

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