The first documented incident of a military pilot shooting and striking a UFO
| Name | Arequipa UFO incident |
| Occurred on | April 11, 1980 |
| Seen by | Óscar Santa María Huertas and the 1,800 personnel at the La Joya Air Force Base |
| Investigated by | Fuerza Aérea del Perú |
We’ve heard of the “dogfights” in military-UFO encounters, such as the Gorman “Dogfight” in 1948 and the Tehran UFO incident in 1976, which involved high-speed chases and equipment shutdowns at the moment of fire.
But never has there been a case of a military officer firing and striking a UFO, until the Arequipa UFO incident (also known as the La Joya Air Force Base UFO incident) on April 11, 1980.
What Did the La Joya Air Force Base See on April 11, 1980?
At 7:15 AM, during the morning formation, high officials at the La Joya Air Force Base announced that they observed a “balloon” within the base’s restricted airspace. All 1,800 military and civilian personnel could see it hovering at the end of the runway, about 3 miles (5 kilometers) away and about 2,000 feet (600 meters) above the ground.
Said “balloon” didn’t respond to their radio communications. Unable to concretely identify the balloon and fearing it could be a tool for espionage, the unit’s second commander, Commander Carlos Vasquez Zegarra, ordered one of the air squad members to intercept and destroy the object. The squadron’s Capt. Oscar Alegre Valdez then assigned Lt. Óscar Santa María Huertas to the task.
Meanwhile, 400 were to stay in combat positions, ready to intervene should the “balloon” attack.
Its perceived threat had also put the base on high alert and activated its defense systems.
Why Was Lt. Huertas Selected for This Mission?
Despite being 23 years old at the time of the incident, the now-retired lieutenant-turned-colonel Huertas had an impressive track record as a Fuerza Aérea del Perú (FAP, Peruvian Air Force) pilot.
- By 23, he had accumulated eight years of flying experience and won awards for aerial marksmanship.
- By 20, he got selected to test-fly FAP’s newly acquired Sukhoi-22 jet from the Soviet Union.
- By 19, he began flying combat missions.
What Happened During Lt. Huertas’s Chase With This “Balloon”?
According to the account he shared in Leslie Kean’s UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record and during Stephen Bassett’s 2013 Citizen Hearing on Disclosure (CHD), Lt. Huertas spent 22 minutes in the air engaging this unknown “balloon.”
Here’s the play-by-play of how his encounter went:
Upon receiving the mission, he immediately took off in his Sukhoi-22 fighter jet, which was armed with 30 mm shells.
To avoid hitting the base, he attacked from the northeast to the southeast. Then at 8,000 feet (2,500 meters), he fired 64 30 mm shells, creating a “cone-shaped ‘wall of fire’ ” and hitting it with precision. Such an attack would normally obliterate anything in its path, but the “balloon” didn’t receive any damage at all. It was as if it had absorbed the ammunition.
It then flew away from the base at high speed, and he pursued it. When they were over Camaná city, 52 miles (84 kilometers) away from the base, it stopped, and he positioned himself to shoot at it. But it suddenly ascended vertically seconds before he fired, thus evading the attack. This cat-and-mouse chase happened multiple times.
Committing to the mission, he eventually decided to attack the “balloon” from above. By this time, both players had reached 46,000 feet (14,000 meters). He flew at Mach 1.6 speed, and just when he was in a position to pull off the maneuver, it flew up at high speed once again and “placed itself next to [him] in parallel formation.” This left him no room to attack.
Even at the last stretch, where they were at 63,000 feet (19,200 meters), he found it impossible to fire and hit the now stationary “balloon” like he did the first time.
Later, he had to stop the active pursuit due to low fuel. Even so, it didn’t deter him from getting close to the “balloon” at 300 feet (100 meters) to identify what it was as he flew back to base.
What Did This “Balloon” Look Like?
Lt. Huertas was surprised that the “balloon,” thought to be spy equipment, was a UFO.
- It was 35 feet (10 meters) in diameter.
- It had a non-metallic, cream-colored enamel dome, “similar to a light bulb cut in half.”
- It had a wide, circular, silver-colored base.
- It didn’t have features common in aircraft: no wings, jet propulsion, exhausts, windows, antenna, etc.
This totally unknown object had convinced him of the possibility of extraterrestrial life and technology.
Did the “Balloon” aka UFO Retaliate Against Lt. Huertas?
Lt. Huertas, upon realizing what the object was, feared that the UFO would start chasing and attacking him on his way back to base. Fortunately, nothing of that sort happened.
The UFO remained stationary right where he left it, even two hours after he landed at the base.
What Actions Did the Peruvian Air Force Take Following this UFO Encounter?
Immediately after Lt. Huertas arrived, all personnel involved at the La Joya Air Force Base conducted a briefing.
They found that their radar didn’t detect the UFO, even though they could see it hovering in the sky.
They also went over photos of an array of aircraft and other devices to see if any matched the description of the UFO the lieutenant had seen. But none came up.
The FAP then officially catalogued the “balloon” as a UFO. It also requested everyone to keep this incident under wraps—and it remained so for 22 years.
What Was the Peruvian Air Force’s Reason for the Secrecy?
When it comes to UFO secrecy, we immediately think of military/government cover-up. However, that’s not the case with the Arequipa UFO incident.
It was Lt. Huertas himself who confirmed that the Peruvian military and government officially accepted the UFO sighting at the 2013 CHD. He and the 1,800 personnel who witnessed the incident received no repercussions and were able to continue their work without any problems.
The reason for the secrecy was that they didn’t want to garner any unwanted attention from the media, for they had sensitive materials and were in the midst of installing Soviet Union military equipment at the base.
It wasn’t until 22 years later that the FAP granted them permission to openly discuss this incident.
What Is the Significance of the Arequipa UFO Incident to Ufology?
There are many similar cases to the Arequipa UFO Incident on record, but what makes it unique lies in the fact that it’s the first (and so far, only) case where the pilot actually struck a UFO.
Retired FAP pilot Óscar Santa María Huertas humbly notes this in Leslie Kean’s book:
I find myself in the unique position, at least for the moment, and as far as I know, of being the only military pilot in the world who has actually fired a weapon and struck a UFO. It still gives me chills to think about it.
Beyond this aspect:
- It strengthens the argument that UFOs are structured, intelligently controlled aircraft with advanced flight characteristics that are beyond the laws of physics and aerodynamics.
- It stands as one of the few examples of a UFO case openly acknowledged by the home country’s military and government. It’s a level of transparency that the U.S. and other countries could emulate.
UFO cases like the Arequipa UFO Incident are rare. If you want to learn more about similar cases, our content library is always open for you to browse.
FAQ
Was the Peruvian media able to cover the Arequipa UFO incident?
According to Lt. Huertas, they had, interviewing him and those involved. It enabled them to get the word out about the incident to the public after 22 years of silence.
However, he noted that the media had trouble at first because they couldn’t access information from FAP offices.
Did the U.S. get involved with investigating the Arequipa UFO incident?
No, they didn’t. The U.S. Department of Defense did, however, receive a report of this UFO case in June 1986, citing the pilot as a credible source.
References
- Leslie Kean. “UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record.” Internet Archive, https://archive.org/details/leslie-kean-ufos/page/n68/mode/1up. Accessed February 20, 2026.
- Citizen Hearing on UFO Disclosure. “UFOs – South American Encounters Part 1.” YouTube, https://youtu.be/GCgp1FKr5hU?si=n6ne1Hcxqyma13Si. Accessed February 23, 2026.3 Citizen Hearing on UFO Disclosure. “UFOs – South American Encounters Part 2.” YouTube, https://youtu.be/QH6boSEfo0U?si=geBQ60-z47Pci3AD. Accessed February 23, 2026.
