UNCLASSIFIED // PUBLIC RELEASERELEASE 07 · OCTOBER 23, 2026
PENTAGON UFO FILE · DOCUMENT · DOW-UAP-D161Air Intelligence Information Report, Alaska, 1953
This three-page Air Intelligence Information Report (IR 5004-40-53) with a one-page sketch map came from the 5004th Air Intelligence Service Squadron. It is dated 24 November 1953, rated C-3, prepared by Maj. Francis M. Brown and signed by the squadron commander, Maj. Richard E. Loomis. It went to a long list of Alaskan, Pacific and air defense commands.
The source and the light
The source was a 14-year-old Alaska Native (the report’s word is “Eskimo”) student and hunter born on Little Diomede, who, on his own initiative, had watched Big Diomede every night the previous week. He told a squadron member on the island, who judged him fairly reliable and noted his excellent eyesight. Standing in the village, he saw a light appear at the island’s southern end, about 95 feet above sea level, and stay for several seconds. It was about the size of a nickel at arm’s length, the color of a burning match or dim flashlight, and looked to him like the beam of a big flashlight or spotlight. He ran home, checked the time and returned, but it did not reappear. The night was dark and clear with stars showing.
The dating is untidy: the summary gives about 1015Z on 8 October and the narrative 1025Z (he found his clock reading 1030Z), with an information date of 8 October, while the narrative says the report was made on 6 October, which the release uses.
The officer’s comment
Brown found the spot odd because people had never been seen there and it is hard to reach, especially at night. He noted that it is the best place on the island from which to signal the Alaskan mainland, while stressing there is no evidence that was the purpose. This is a Cold War border watch report, not a flying-object case; a similar island report is DOW-UAP-D162.
The official description
From war.gov/UFO, released October 23, 2026, quoted in full
This document is an Air Intelligence Information Report (AIIR), a standardized U.S. Air Force reporting form used to record raw information of potential intelligence value for later analysis. The form served as a primary vehicle for U.S. Air Force field intelligence collection throughout the early Cold War, until defense-wide reporting standards were established in the early 1960s.
This AIIR records an October 6, 1953, incident on Little Diomede, Alaska, in which a resident of the island reported observing a light on the southern tip of Big Diomede, U.S.S.R. The report states that the light lasted for several seconds and appeared as though it came from a large flashlight or spotlight. It further describes the light as about the size of a nickel coin held at arm’s length and about the same color as a burning match or dim flashlight.
All descriptive and estimative language contained in this report reflects the reporter’s subjective interpretation at the time of the event. Such characterizations should not be interpreted as a conclusive indication of the presence or absence of any intrinsic object features or performance characteristics.
AARO Comment: The Diomede Islands are situated in the Bering Strait between Alaska and Siberia and constitute the nearest point of territorial proximity between the United States and the former Soviet Union.