Incident · 2004 · Arak heavy-water plant and other nuclear sites, Iran
Iranian air defence encounters over nuclear sites
Also known as Iran 2004, Arak 2004, Iranian F-14 UFOs
According to Iranian aircrew interviewed by the aviation historian Tom Cooper, in 2004 Iran formed an air-defence task force of F-4E and F-14 fighters with command and sensor aircraft to protect its nuclear sites against what it believed were CIA spy drones. Crews nicknamed them "luminous objects" and credited them with hovering and extreme speeds.
In one account from November 2004, near the Arak heavy-water plant, an armed F-14A crew reported a spherical object with a green, afterburner-like glow; when they illuminated it with radar, their radar scope was disrupted.
No official Iranian documents are available, so the accounts cannot be checked. U.S. military UAP reports over Iran from 2020–2022 appear separately in the PURSUE releases.
Sources: The Aviationist (2013)
Facts and claims
- claimed In 2004 Iran formed an air-defence task force (eight F-4Es, eight F-14s, plus command and sensor aircraft) to protect its nuclear sites against what it believed were CIA spy drones. Crews nicknamed them “luminous objects” and credited them with hovering and extreme speeds. — Tom Cooper Source: theaviationist.com (archived)
- claimed In November 2004, near the Arak heavy-water plant, an armed F-14A crew reported a spherical object with a green, afterburner-like glow. When they illuminated it with radar, the radar scope became disrupted. — Tom Cooper Source: theaviationist.com (archived)
- claimed The accounts come from Iranian aircrew via aviation historian Tom Cooper. No official Iranian documents are available. U.S. military UAP reports over Iran from 2020–2022 appear in the PURSUE releases. Source: theaviationist.com (archived)
Connected files
People
- Tom Cooper (reported by)
Official records (PURSUE)
- DOW-UAP-D064 — Mission Report, Iran, November 2020 (same region as) — Later U.S. military UAP reports over Iran (2020–2022) in PURSUE
- DOW-UAP-PR050 — 4 UAP Formation Iran 26 Aug 2022 over water [CALLSIGN] (same region as) — Later U.S. military UAP reports over Iran (2020–2022) in PURSUE
Mentioned in this file
- PURSUE — Presidential Unsealing and Reporting System for UAP Encounters (Program)
- Central Intelligence Agency (Organization)
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