Document · Government record · 1984 – 2024

Spain still classifies its UFO files after 1995

Spain's Air Force declassified its UFO files up to the mid-1990s, but every file since is still CONFIDENCIAL under General Instruction 40-5, which remains in force. A request for the 2000–2022 files was refused in 2023 and the refusal upheld in 2024. Two older files say the judges' reports on their cases are missing: the 1976 Talavera la Real case, where sentries reportedly fired on a luminous figure, and Lanzarote 1985, where an airliner captain confirmed a light.

First page of Defence Ministry transparency resolution 001-068360 (2022): Instrucción General 40-5 governs UFO reports, and files stay CONFIDENCIAL in the custody of the MACOM intelligence section until declassified. · Ministerio de Defensa (España)

Cases (3)

1967Montánchez: two radars, a T-33 and an F-86 scramble
1976Canarias 1976: the corvette, the doctor and the sphere
1979Manises: TAE flight JK-297 diverted and the Mirage chase

Sources

Defence Ministry resolution 68360 (2022)
Vozpópuli: Defence keeps UFO files confidential
El Confidencial Digital (2024)
Spanish Defence virtual library: Talavera 1976 (file 761112)
Spanish Defence virtual library: Lanzarote 1985 (file 850212)