Sary Shagan Weapons Testing Range, USSR — SUMMER 1973
CIA human-source intelligence report describes a bright green circular object observed at Site 7 of the Sary Shagan Soviet ABM weapons testing range in summer 1973. The object widened into 'several green concentric circles' before fading without sound.
“An unidentified sharp (bright) green circular object or mass in the sky.”
Incident summary
A CIA Intelligence Information Report (FIRK-311/01638-77) dated December 1973 describes a human-source observation at Site 7 of the Sary Shagan Soviet anti-ballistic-missile weapons testing range. During an evening hockey-game broadcast (Canada vs. USSR), the source stepped outside and observed 'an unidentified sharp (bright) green circular object or mass in the sky' at an angle of sighting of approximately 70 degrees. Within 10 to 15 seconds, the green circle widened and 'several green concentric circles formed around the mass.' The coloring disappeared within minutes; no sound accompanied the phenomenon. The source could not estimate the diameter or altitude. The full report is catalogued as DOC-137 in PURSUE Release 02; paragraphs 1 through 9 and paragraph 12 of the original document were withheld entirely from declassification.
Why this case matters
This incident is logged in the Pentagon's PURSUE catalog — the U.S. Department of War's rolling declassified UAP file release (Release 01 on 2026-05-08, Release 02 on 2026-05-22) — under identifier PURSUE-029. The originating agency is the Central Intelligence Agency; the case is currently classified CONFIDENTIAL//DECLASSIFIED and rated UNRESOLVED by the All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). UAP.WATCH mirrors the original record, adds a geographic and temporal index, and links every claim back to the canonical war.gov source.