The article below was published in the daily newspaper Le Méridional, France, page 11, on January 13, 1980.
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"It was going at jet speed, about 500 knots (926 km/h). When I saw it, it was right behind a helicopter, taking part in a night exercise."
This testimony from an air traffic controller at the military base of Elmas, near Cagliari, in Sardinia, is contained in a thick report, kept secret for more than two years, by the Air Ministry of Defense and communicated, yesterday, to the Ansa news agency.
The appearance of this UFO, on October 27, 1977, during a military exercise, had given rise to exchanges of messages between the base of Elmas, the NATO base of Decimomannu, the aircraft carrier "Saratoga" and several military aircraft in flight. The UFO, which several pilots also saw, was flying at approximately 1,500 feet (500 meters) and remained visible for 4 minutes.
On the night of August 3 to 4, 1977, three employees of the Naples - Capodichino airport control tower saw two circular UFOs, emitting a very bright white light.
Finally, in Pisa, an air traffic controller, warned by a colleague at the Sarzana heliport, saw, on the night of November 23 to 24, 1977, a star-shaped object, changing color very quickly, passing from red to purple then to green and yellow. It was at about 15,000 feet (5,000 meters above sea level) at a distance of about 9 km. The UFO remained visible for two hours.
