1990 · Eupen and across Belgium
The Belgian triangle wave
Part ofOrdered to fire
WhenNov 1989 – April 1990
WhereEupen and across Belgium
Backing7 independent
Witnesses2 named
Evidencesensor data, documents, official records
Thousands of Belgians, including police officers, reported large silent black triangles with bright lights at each corner. On the night of March 30–31, 1990, the Belgian Air Force scrambled two F-16s after ground radar picked up the objects. The jets got radar locks, and the targets seemed to accelerate and drop faster than any known aircraft. An Air Force analysis released in 2025 attributes those F-16 radar tracks to the radar's tracking filter (proposed, not demonstrated); it does not explain the gendarmes' sightings or the ground radar.
Evidence, in date order (7)
- Nov 1989Belgian police officerswitnessreported the triangles during the wave Wikipedia: Belgian UFO wave
- 1990Belgian Air Force (Col. Wilfried De Brouwer)sensor datareleased the F-16 radar data at a press conference The UFO wave that sent Belgian F-16s into the sky
- 1990SOBEPSdocumentmore than 2,000 written witness reports Wikipedia: Belgian UFO wave
- 1990Maj. P. Lambrechts (Belgian Air Force), 1990officialofficial report: Glons CRC and Semmerzake ground radar, three F-16 lock-ons, no plausible explanation for the ground sightings Lambrechts report
- 30 Mar 1990Belgian ground radarsensor datapicked up the objects and triggered the F-16 scramble Wikipedia: Belgian UFO wave
- 31 Mar 1990F-16 pilot Yves Meelbergswitnessdescribes the radar locks on the night of 30-31 March 1990 F-16 pilot Yves Meelbergs and other witnesses on the Belgian wave
- 18 Jun 2025Lt Col Salmon report (released 18 Jun 2025, SAT7-OBPA 04/25)officialattributes the F-16 radar kinematics to tracking-filter artifacts; does not address the gendarme sightings Salmon report
How plausible · Very high
Gendarmes on duty, ground radar and an official Air Force report back the wave; the F-16 lock-ons are now attributed to tracking-software artifacts, but the ground sightings stand. (Revised 2026-10-23: a single proposed explanation is noted, not deducted.)
- ●●Access Direct observation or instruments.
- ●●No gain sought Nothing to gain.
- ●●Consistent over time Stable over time.
- ●●Character record Trained professionals.
- ●●Independent convergence Independent sources agree.
- ●●Checkable details check out Released official records.
Plausibility weighs how well an account fits where secrecy hides the documents by design, so missing records never count against it. Strength measures what is documented. Assessed 2026-10-23.
On the record
- Belgian Air Force Colonel Wilfried De Brouwer released the F-16 radar data at a press conference.
- More than 2,000 written witness reports collected by the Belgian group SOBEPS.
- Maj. Lambrechts's 1990 Air Force report: gendarme sightings from 23:00 on 30 March, confirmed by a Wavre patrol; Glons and Semmerzake ground radar; two F-16s, nine interception attempts, three lock-ons.
- Lt Col Salmon's F-16 radar report, released by Belgian Defence on 18 June 2025.
Claims
Structured triangular craft operating openly over NATO's home country.firsthandSourced, unconfirmedBelgian witnesses
Two F-16s made nine interception attempts and three radar lock-ons; stealth aircraft, AWACS, balloons, lasers and holograms were excluded; the ground sightings have 'aucune explication plausible'.firsthandOn the recordMaj. P. Lambrechts, Belgian Air Force report (1990)
The F-16 radar tracks were not a single object; contacts 8–10 were the wingman, and the radar's Kalman tracking filter created fictitious tracks and target swaps. Explanation proposed, not demonstrated; the gendarme sightings and the Glons and Semmerzake ground radar remain unexplained.analysisOn the recordLt Col Salmon, F-16 radar report (Belgian Defence, released 18 Jun 2025)
A silent triangular platform with powerful lights for about 30 minutes, then a second craft; the dispatcher checked four airports and found no traffic.firsthandSourced, unconfirmedgendarmes Heinrich Nicoll and Hubert von Montigny, Eupen, 29 Nov 1989
One proposed explanation for the triangles is a human-built ARV such as the TR-3B, which Edgar Fouché described in 1998 from five unnamed insiders; proposed, not demonstrated. A critic called the TR-3B a fabrication drawn from the Belgian wave.secondhandLeadEdgar Fouché
Triangles are a human attempt to copy NHI craft and lack the full envelope of the 'five observables'.Alien Reproduction Vehicle - TR-3B and the Flying TrianglesspeculationLeadUAP Gerb (Sam)
Where
Eupen and across Belgium
50.6°N 6.0°E
In The picture
On the recordThe firmest layer is the one trained observers and instruments wrote down. Belgian gendarmes watched silent lit triangles in 1989-90 and ground radars tracked the wave; the Air Force sent F-16s and released its own data, though a radar study it released in 2025 puts the fighters' lock-ons down to their tracking softw…
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