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UFO History

Case File — Belgian UFO Wave (1989 to 1990)

Case File — Belgian UFO Wave (1989 to 1990)
Old photo taken of triangular UFO

Overview

From late 1989 through spring 1990, Belgium logged hundreds of reports of large, low-flying triangular lights. The wave peaked on the night of March 30 to 31, 1990, when two Belgian Air Force F-16s were scrambled after radar returns were reported. An official Air Force memo later chronicled that night in detail. Years later, the most famous “triangle” photo from the wave was publicly confessed as a hoax. Wikipedia+2Das UFO-Phänomen+2

Timeline

  • Nov 29, 1989 to Apr 1990. Clusters of reports describe large triangular lights over multiple Belgian towns. Wikipedia
  • Mar 30 to 31, 1990. Control Reporting Center at Glons receives reports. Two F-16s launch and attempt radar lock-ons. Belgian Air Force compiles a chronological report the public can read today. Wikipedia+1
  • 1990. A striking triangle photo from Petit-Rechain circulates worldwide. Wikipedia
  • Jul 2011. The photographer goes on Belgian TV and explains the image was a styrofoam model with flashlights suspended on a string. Reuters covers the confession. Reuters

Primary sources

  • Belgian Air Force report on the night of Mar 30 to 31, 1990. Full PDF. Das UFO-Phänomen
  • Belgian UFO Wave overview for dates and radar context. Wikipedia
  • UK National Archives note referencing the F-16 scramble in contemporaneous files. cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk
  • Petit-Rechain photo confession covered by Reuters. Reuters

Claims and counterclaims

Claim: Multiple radar systems and police witnesses tracked an unknown object. F-16s obtained several radar lock-ons with rapid target maneuvers.
Counter: The Air Force report itself notes issues like atmospheric interference, specifically Bragg scattering, and intermittent contacts. Skeptical analyses argue some “accelerations” were artifacts from radar mode changes and geometry rather than a craft performing extreme maneuvers. Wikipedia

Claim: The triangle photo proves a structured craft.
Counter: The best known photo was confessed as a hoax in 2011. It does not validate or invalidate the entire wave, but it removes a key visual that often anchored “proof” claims. Reuters

Claim: Government acknowledgment and scrambles imply a high-strangeness threat.
Counter: National archive material and the Belgian Air Force narrative confirm the scramble and documentation, not an exotic origin. Official records emphasize investigation and safety rather than extraordinary conclusions. cdn.nationalarchives.gov.uk

Credibility meter

Score each 1 to 5.

  • Witnesses: 3
    Many public witnesses and some police reports. Limited independent instrumented observation beyond standard radar. Wikipedia
  • Physical evidence: 1
    No recovered material. The famous photo was a hoax. Reuters
  • Documentation: 4
    A formal Belgian Air Force chronology exists and can be read today. UK files acknowledge the scramble. Das UFO-Phänomen+1
  • Expert review: 2 to 3
    Competing reads of the radar data. Some effects can be explained by atmospheric and radar quirks. No consensus. Wikipedia

Overall: ~2.7 (well documented, interpretation contested)

Red flags

  • Radar contacts were intermittent and subject to interference like Bragg scattering. This complicates performance claims. Wikipedia
  • The iconic triangle photo was fabricated, which skews public memory of the case. Reuters

What we know

  • The Belgian Air Force scrambled jets on Mar 30 to 31, 1990 and wrote up the event in detail. Das UFO-Phänomen
  • The Petit-Rechain photo was admitted hoax. Reuters

Unknowns

  • Whether a single prosaic model explains the whole wave, including low-altitude triangle reports.
  • How much of the 1990 night’s radar picture is atmosphere and operator settings versus an object with unusual kinematics. Wikipedia

What If…?

What if the Belgian wave marked the first sustained observation of a stealthy, nonhuman reconnaissance platform mapping NATO air defenses without ever giving a clean visual? Another speculative line is that the wave was a social and technological mirage, where a few unusual sky conditions, radar quirks, and media amplification created a country-scale “structured light” narrative. A hybrid take imagines a real, conventional stimulus some nights, intertwined with hoaxed imagery and expectation effects. These ideas are unproven, but they show why this wave still divides the field.

Where to dig next

  • Rebuild the Mar 30 to 31 radar geometry with modern simulation, including Bragg scattering profiles for that weather, and publish code and assumptions. Wikipedia
  • Aggregate first-week police logs and gendarmerie notes into a synchronized timeline with map pins to quantify clusters versus copycat reports.
  • Compare reported triangle headings with scheduled helicopter and aircraft routes that night and the surrounding weeks.
  • Archive media coverage before and after the hoax confession to analyze how one image shaped public memory. Reuters

Receipts

💡
Bottom Line - Belgium’s wave is a strong paper trail wrapped around messy data. You have official logs and a jet scramble on one key night, but too many measurement caveats and a confessed photo hoax to claim a solved mystery.

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