COMETA report. UFOs and Defense: What Should We Prepare For?

VSD magazine, France, July 1999. — 83 p.English translation of the original COMETA report in French.Preface by general Bernard Norlain, former director of the IHEDN(Institute of Advanced Studies for National Defense, France).In 1999 an important document was published in France entitled, UFOs and Defense: What must we be prepared for? ("Les Ovni Et La Defense: A quoi doit-on se préparer?"). This ninety-page report is the result of an in-depth study of UFOs, covering many aspects of the subject, especially questions of national defense. The study was carried out over several years by an independent group of former "auditors" at the Institute of Advanced Studies for National Defense, or IHEDN, and by qualified experts from various fields. Before its public release, it has been sent to French President Jacques Chirac and to Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. The report is prefaced by General Bernard Norlain of the Air Force, former Director of IHEDN, and it begins with a preamble by André Lebeau, former President of the National Center for Space Studies (Centre National D’études Spatiales), or CNES, the French equivalent of NASA. The group itself, collective author of the report, is an association of experts, many of whom are or have been auditors of IHEDN, and it is presided over by General Denis Letty of the Air Force, former auditor (FA) of IHEDN.Foreword
Introduction
Facts and Testimonies
Testimonies of French Pilots
Aeronautical Cases Throughout the World
Sightings from the Ground
Close Encounters in France
Counterexamples of Phenomena That Have Been Explained
The extent of our knowledge
Organization of the Research in France
Methods and Results of GEPAN/SEPRA
UFOs: Hypotheses, Modeling Attempts
Organization of the Research Abroad
UFOs and Defense
Strategic Planning
Aeronautical Implications
Scientific and Technical Implications
Political and Religious Implications
Media Implications
Conclusion and Recommendations
Appendices
Radar Detection in France
Astronomers' Sightings
Life in the Universe
Colonization of Space
The Roswell Affair - Disinformation
The Long History of the UFO Phenomenon - Elements of a Chronology
Reflections on Various Psychological, Sociological and Political Aspects of the UFO Phenomenon
Glossary