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Case · C-057

Calvine 1990: the photo of the “diamond” and the Harrier jet examined by the Ministry of Defence

Hills above Calvine, Perth and Kinross, Scotland · United Kingdom · Aug 4, 1990

In flight Civilian witnesses Photos

Unexplained

What happened
On the evening of August 4, 1990, two men walking in the hills above Calvine said they had seen a large diamond-shaped object, silent and almost motionless, while a Harrier jet passed nearby; they took six photographs and sent them to the Daily Record. The newspaper did not publish the story and the images reached the Ministry of Defence, which had them examined by its analysts; in the press lines of September 1990 the ministry wrote that it had not reached definitive conclusions about the object. The papers made public by the National Archives in 2009 contained only poor-quality copies; an original print, kept by a former RAF press officer, was published by David Clarke in 2022.
Proposed explanation
The hypotheses range from a U.S. experimental aircraft (supported by a former intelligence official interviewed by David Clarke) to a prank with a model; Sean Kirkpatrick, former director of AARO, told the Guardian that he believes it to be a reflection in a lake combined with a retouched photo, although the Guardian notes that there are no bodies of water on that hill. An analysis by Sheffield Hallam University concluded that the image is an authentic photograph of a real object in front of the lens, without ruling out staging.
Official investigation
British Ministry of Defence (Sec(AS)2 office, Defence Intelligence DI55, the JARIC photographic interpretation center)
Words of the document
sensitivity of material suggests very special handling

Official documents

  1. UFO files – Highlights Guide (rilascio del marzo 2009) · The National Archives (United Kingdom) · Mar 2009

Sources

  1. The Guardian, “What really happened in Calvine? The mystery behind the best UFO picture ever seen” (2025) (press)
  2. David Clarke, “Case Files: Calvine UFO photographs” (analysis)
  3. David Clarke, “National Archives UFO Files #3” (March 2009 release) (analysis)
  4. Wikipedia (en) – Calvine UFO photograph (other)

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