A former presidential advisor's revelation about a mysterious UFO incident during the Cuban Missile Crisis has sparked renewed interest in historical military encounters with unexplained phenomena.
According to the Daily Mail, Harald Malmgren, who served as a senior advisor to four U.S. presidents, disclosed that the Navy shot down and retrieved a mysterious "white orb" UFO during a missile test in October 1962. The incident was captured on video and involved an experimental X-ray equipped missile.
The details of this classified encounter were revealed by Malmgren's daughter, economist Dr. Pippa Malmgren, through a blog post published after her father's death on February 13, 2025. Harald Malmgren had decided to share his experience "for the sake of history" before his passing at age 89. The incident occurred during a period of heightened international tension, as the world teetered on the brink of nuclear conflict.
The missile test took place on October 25, 1962, featuring an innovative weapon equipped with an X-ray device in its nosecone. According to Harald's account, the mysterious orb was observed circling the missile during its flight. The X-ray burst from the experimental weapon apparently disabled the UFO, causing it to crash into the ocean where Navy personnel later retrieved it.
These unexplained objects following missiles were referred to as "tagalongs" by military personnel. Harald's involvement in the incident stemmed from his role overseeing the missile testing program's budget as a senior White House and Pentagon official. His high-level security clearance granted him access to classified information about these encounters.
Following the incident, Harald received briefings from top officials, including CIA Deputy Director Richard Bissell and Atomic Energy Commission regional chief Lawrence Preston Gise, who happened to be Amazon founder Jeff Bezos' grandfather. The briefings included exposure to materials allegedly recovered from crashed craft.
Dr. Pippa Malmgren revealed that President John F. Kennedy and Vice President Lyndon Johnson received classified briefings about the incident on December 7, 1962. These presentations took place at multiple locations, including Strategic Air Command Headquarters and Los Alamos National Laboratory.
The UFO encounter reportedly influenced Kennedy's decision to pursue arms limitation talks with Soviet leader Nikita Khrushchev. Harald's daughter shared his account of how the president's awareness of these unexplained phenomena shaped his approach to international relations and nuclear deterrence.
Before his death, Harald provided insights about his involvement through social media. In an August post, he described his security clearance and informal briefings on "otherworld technologies" by CIA official Richard Bissell. Harald explained that Bissell shared this information to prepare him for potential discussions with presidents about these phenomena.
Official documentation partially corroborates Harald's account of the 1962 incident. Military records show the existence of the XW-50-X1 warhead, designed to emit high-energy X-rays for disabling incoming missiles. Declassified videos from October 26, 1962, show a high-altitude nuclear test explosion near Johnston Island, with an object appearing to fall from the nuclear fireball.
Navy ship logs from the USS Engage and USS John S. McCain document the recovery of unusual items, including an "experimental pod" and a "black ball in the water." These items showed elevated radiation levels consistent with exposure to nuclear events. Notably, some ships' logs from this period are mysteriously missing from national archives.
These findings align with other documented UFO encounters from the same period. Two weeks earlier, on September 19, 1962, another unidentified object was recorded following an Avco Mark 4 missile at hypersonic speeds off the coast of Florida. The incident was officially labeled as a "UFO sighting" in military records.
Harald Malmgren's disclosure of the 1962 UFO incident adds a significant chapter to the historical record of military encounters with unexplained phenomena. As a trusted advisor to Presidents Kennedy, Johnson, Nixon, and Ford, his account provides unique insight into how these events influenced high-level decision-making during the Cold War. The revelation comes amid growing governmental acknowledgment of UFO encounters, supported by declassified documents and military records that validate key aspects of Malmgren's testimony.
