The 1964 Vandenberg Air Force Base (AFB) UFO incident, often referred to as the “Big Sur UFO” case, centers on claims made by former U.S. Air Force Lieutenant Robert Jacobs. In September 1964, Jacobs was involved in filming missile test launches at Vandenberg AFB, California.
He asserts that during the test of an Atlas missile, a high-resolution telescopic camera stationed near Big Sur captured footage of an unidentified flying object intercepting the missile’s dummy warhead. According to Jacobs, the footage showed a disc-shaped object emitting beams of light at the warhead, leading to its malfunction. Jacobs claims that upon reviewing the footage, his superiors instructed him to remain silent about the event, suggesting a cover-up.
The Atlas missile project was a pivotal U.S. military and aerospace program developed during the Cold War as the first operational intercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) system. Initiated in the early 1950s by the Convair Division of General Dynamics, the Atlas missile was designed to deliver nuclear warheads over intercontinental distances. The missile featured a unique “balloon” design with thin stainless-steel walls that relied on internal pressurization for structural integrity,
reducing weight and allowing greater payload capacity. The Atlas became operational in 1959 and served as a key component of America’s strategic deterrence until the mid-1960s, when it was replaced by more advanced missile systems. Beyond its military role, the Atlas played a significant part in the U.S. space program, launching astronauts in Project Mercury and serving as a reliable workhorse for satellite launches for decades. The program showcased the dual-use potential of rocket technology, influencing both defense and space exploration.
This account has been a topic of debate among UFO researchers and skeptics. In a 1993 article for the Skeptical Inquirer, researcher Kingston A. George, the project engineer for the Big Sur telescope experiment, contested Jacobs’s version. George stated that while unique telephoto data of an Atlas launch were obtained in 1964,
the imagery had nothing to do with UFOs or extraterrestrials. The U.S. Air Force’s Project Blue Book, which investigated UFO reports from 1947 to 1969, concluded that no UFO reported, analyzed, and evaluated by the Air Force was ever an indication of a threat to national security. Additionally, there was no evidence suggesting that sightings categorized as “unidentified”
represented technological developments beyond modern scientific knowledge or were extraterrestrial vehicles. Despite the skepticism, the Big Sur incident remains a point of interest in UFO lore. In 2023, during a House Oversight Committee hearing on unidentified anomalous phenomena, former U.S. Navy pilot Ryan Graves
testified about a separate 2003 incident at Vandenberg AFB, where a large, red square-shaped object was reported hovering over the base. Such testimonies have reignited discussions about historical UFO encounters at military installations. In summary, while the 1964 Vandenberg AFB incident is a compelling narrative within UFO circles,
it lacks corroborative evidence and is disputed by individuals directly involved in the events. The U.S. Air Force’s official stance, as documented in Project Blue Book, does not support the occurrence of such an event. As with many UFO claims, the Big Sur incident highlights the challenges in verifying extraordinary accounts without substantial evidence.
Robert Jacobs, a former first lieutenant at Vandenberg, said a telescope video camera his crew set up at the base to record a missile test in September 1964 captured a flying saucer-shaped object that “went around the top of the warhead” and “fired a beam of light down on the top of the warhead” before flying out of the frame. Jacobs said that the footage was later cut and that he was warned by his superior never to talk about the incident.
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- Los Angeles Times “UFOs had their day in Congress. One strange sighting came at this California launch site” https://www.latimes.com/california/story/2023-08-04/ufo-hearing-congress-sighting-at-california-vandenberg-air-force-base
- Starquest “UFO Nuclear Missile Shootdown (Big Sur UFO Incident)” https://sqpn.com/2023/11/ufo-nuclear-missile-shootdown-big-sur-ufo-incident/
- BBC “US says UFO sightings likely secret military tests” https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68515515
- Hindustan Times “UFO whistleblowers reveal how the space shuttle ‘zapped’ the US nuke in 1964 ‘using laser beams’” https://www.hindustantimes.com/world-news/us-news/ufo-whistleblowers-reveal-how-the-space-shuttle-zapped-the-us-nuke-in-1964-using-laser-beams-101707883306201.html
- The Portugal News “UFO shot down an ICBM” https://www.theportugalnews.com/news/2022-08-23/ufo-shot-down-an-icbm/69689
- Air Force “Unidentified Flying Objects and Air Force Project Blue Book” https://www.af.mil/About-Us/Fact-Sheets/Display/Article/104590/unidentified-flying-objects-and-air-force-project-blue-book/
