The COMETA Report

July 16, 1999 — COMETA (French Institute of Higher Studies for National Defence)

Overview

The COMETA Report ("UFOs and Defense: What Should We Prepare For?") was published in 1999 by COMETA, an independent French committee composed of retired generals, admirals, intelligence officials, scientists, and engineers — many associated with the Institute of Higher Studies for National Defence (IHEDN). The report represented the most authoritative assessment of the UFO phenomenon by military and intelligence professionals from any nation.

Key Findings

After analyzing numerous well-documented cases from French and international files, the COMETA committee concluded that approximately 5% of UFO cases involved objects demonstrating physical characteristics and behavior that could not be explained by any known natural or human-made phenomenon. The committee stated that the "extraterrestrial hypothesis is the most likely explanation" for these cases.

Committee Members

COMETA's credibility derived from its membership, which included General Denis Letty (former head of the French Air Force's UFO investigation unit), André Lebeau (former president of the French Space Agency, CNES), and multiple other senior military and scientific figures. These were not UFO enthusiasts but career defense and intelligence professionals.

Recommendations

The report recommended that France strengthen its official UFO investigation capabilities (through GEIPAN), develop international cooperation on UFO research, consider the strategic and defense implications of the extraterrestrial hypothesis, and prepare contingency plans for various contact scenarios. The COMETA Report remains one of the most significant official-level assessments of the UFO phenomenon in history.