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NEW FRENCH REPORT ON UFOs AND DEFENCE General Bruno Lemoine of the Air Force (FA of IHEDN); Admiral Marc Merlo (FA of IHEDN); Michel Algrin, doctor of polit- ical sciences and attorney at law (FA of THEDN); General Pierre Bescond, engineer for armaments (FA of IHEDN); Denis Blancher, chief national police superinten- dent at the Ministry of the Interior; Christian Marchal, chief engineer of the national Corps des Mines and research director at the National Office of Aeronautical Research (ONERA); and General Alain Orszag, PhD (physics), armaments engineer. The committee also expresses its grati- tude to outside contributors, including: Jean-Jacques Velasco, head of SEPRA (Service d'Expertise des Phénoménes de Rentrée Atmosphérique) at CNES; Frangois Louange, president of Fleximage, photo analysis specialist; and Air Force General Joseph Domange, general delegate of the Association of Auditors (AA) at THEDN. General Norlain tells in a short preface how this committee was created. General Letty came to see him in March 1995, when Norlain was Director of IHEDN, to discuss his project of a committee on UFOs. Norlain assured him of his interest and directed him to the AA of the IHEDN, which in turn gave its support. It is inter- esting to recall here that, 20 years ago, it was a report of that same Association which led to the creation of GEPAN (Groupe d'Etude des Phénoménes Aérospatiaux Non-identifiés)—the first unit for UFO study at CNES. As a result, several members of the committee come from the AA of the IHEDN, joined by other experts. Most of them hold, or have held, important functions in defence, indus- try, teaching, research or various central administrations. General Norlain expresses hope that this report will help develop new efforts nation- ally and an indispensable international cooperation. General Letty, as president of COMETA, points to the main theme of the report, which is that the accumulation of well-documented observations compels us now to consider all hypotheses (especially extraterrestrial) as to the origin of UFOs. The committee then presents the contents of the study. In the first part, the authors discuss some remarkable UFO cases, both French and foreign. In the second part, they describe the present organisation of research in France and abroad, as well as studies done by scientists worldwide which may bring partial explanations in accor- dance with known laws of physics. The main global explanations are then reviewed, from secret aircraft to extrater- restrial manifestations. The third part examines measures to be taken regarding defence, from information to pilots, both civilian and military, to strategic, political n 16 July 1999, a document was Opts in France, titled "UFOs and Defence: What must we be prepared for?" ("Les OVNI et la Défense: A quoi doit-on se préparer?"). This 90- page report is the result of an in-depth study of UFOs, covering many aspects of the subject, especially questions of defence. The study was carried out over several years by an independent group of former "auditors" at the Institute of Higher Studies for National Defence (Institut des Hautes Etudes de Défense Nationale, or IHEDN), and qualified experts from various fields. Before its public release, it was sent to the President of the French Republic, Jacques Chirac, and to Prime Minister Lionel Jospin. The report is prefaced by General Bernard Norlain of the French Air Force, former Director of IHEDN, and begins with a preamble by André Lebeau, former President of the National Centre for Space Studies (Centre National d'Etudes Spatiales, or CNES), the French equivalent of NASA. The collective author of the report is COMETA (the Committee for In- depth Studies), and the group is presided over by General Denis Letty of the Air Force, a former auditor (FA) of IHEDN. A list of COMETA members is given at the beginning of the report. It includes: NEXUS - 65 OCTOBER — NOVEMBER 1999