that Lt. Santa María and his aircraft went from being hunters to prey. He was being pursued by the UFO at 19,000 meters (62,000 feet), nearly 1000 meters beyond the aircraft manufacturer’s specifications. Furthermore, his fuel supply was running low.

Faced with this situation, Oscar Santa María decided to abandon his mission and withdraw, even as the UFO continued to ascend, losing itself in space. He was eighty-four kilometers away from his base, and 22 minutes had elapsed since his first contact with the UFO.

After landing, the UFO reappeared, remaining visible to the air base for nearly two hours.

Peruvian authorities jealously guarded this incident and it recently came to light during a declassification of documents by the U.S. Department of State. Researchers interviewed Oscar Santa María, the now-retired fightercommander, and their report appeared in History Channel, becoming known worldwide through cable TV broadcasts. It should be noted that Santa María had been speaking of the matter for a number of years in several American and European countries.

According to UFO experts, this is the only case in which a military aircraft has attached a UFO. There was a similar case, but the pilot was unable to fire against the unknown object. On the other hand, the Peruvian did make use of his weapons, firing a total of 64 rounds.

The aggressiveness, determination and dexterity of the Peruvian pilot should be noted, as he attacked his target without hesitation, flew his aircraft to its design limits, and returned intact to its base.

A total of 52 Sukhoi-22 fighter bombers (SU-17s