Canadian military has dozens of reports of UFO sightings dating back 70 YEARS, with some officers describing 'bright' objects flying at twice the speed of an F-86

• e-mail

A new report describes roughly a dozen ufo sightings by the Canadian military - with some dating back 70 years, highlighting the strange phenomenon ahead of a highly anticipated government report in the U.S.

The Canadian sightings took place at military bases dating back to 1950, and were uncovered by Vice through access to information requests, public records, and interviews.

It comes as the Pentagon prepares to deliver its report on UFO sightings to Congress later this month, with some lawmakers pushing for the information to be made public.

The earliest Canadian incident described in the new report dates back to March 1950, when a pair of Air Force officers witnessed 'an orange pulsating symmetrical light' speeding over Ottawa.

A new report describes roughly a dozen UFO sightings by the Canadian military dating back across the past 70 years (file photo)

On April 12, 1952, two officers at CFB North Bay spotted something something 'apparently round' like 'an amber traffic light'. 

They said it moved at a 'very great rate of speed—comparable to twice the speed of an F-86' jet fighter, and then 'skidded to a stop, reversed direction and disappeared… at a greater rate of speed on reversal than on approach.' 

The F-86 fighter jet, which was retired in 1980, was rated for a top speed of 650mph. 

In another incident from November 1967, a sergeant at CFB Moose Jaw reported 'a very bright light' at an altitude of 3,000-4,000 feet with 'what appeared to the observer as small moons arcing the outer perimeter of light.'

The witness said that as the object began to move 'it appeared to the observer to be elongated in shape' before quickly soaring upward.

On August 21, 1968, a Canadian Navy crew on a pair of destroyers in the Pacific spotted multiple 'bright objects' flying in formation.

In another sighting at CFB Moose Jaw on December 15, 1978, several privates and a captain sighted 'four objects in line' that were 'circular. Whitish with orange and light red. Slightly above northern horizon. Travelling west to east.'

On April 12, 1952, two officers at CFB North Bay described a UFO moving at twice the speed of an F-86. The F-86 fighter jet, which was retired in 1980, was rated for a top speed of 650mph

Also in 1978, a 'white spot, turning blue and red' was seen 'travelling in zigzag formation' above Ontario's CFB Borden base.

In 1981, John Patrick McManus spotted a UFO at CFB Shilo in Manitoba. 'Within a moment or two it shot directly away from us, diminishing in brightness as it disappeared at a fantastic speed,' he told Vice.

Another witness came forward to describe an incident at CFB Winnipeg in June 1985. John 'Jock' Williams told the outlet he saw 'the single brightest object I've ever seen in the sky next to the sun.'

More recently, several military sightings of UFOs have been catalogued in the Canadian government's aviation incident database.  

One from November 27, 2002 describes 'an observation on NORAD radar of a large tubular object between (37 and 47 thousand feet) in the area of Chicago which was moving toward the Thunder Bay area'

Another from the night of Nov. 21, 2008, describes Canadian Armed Forces personnel notifying civilian air traffic controllers of a 'UFO' east of Regina, Saskatchewan. 

The incident report states 'the object was stationary with bright, white lights and had been observed on previous occasions.' 

One incident on September 14, 2007 at CFB North bay had dozens of witnesses and was recorded on video that has not been made public. Witnesses described an 'intense light' that hovered over the base and moved slowly upward before fading with the rising sun.  

A spokesperson for Canada's Department of National Defence told Vice that it is 'not aware of any Canadian nexus or participation in the U.S. Department of Defense's UFO studies at this time, nor does the Canadian Armed Forces have a unit dedicated to investigating UFOs.'

Canada's military says it is not participating in the Pentagon's review of UFO incidents

By the end of this month, the Pentagon's Director of National Intelligence is required to turn over a report on U.S. military sightings of UFOs to Congress.

An unclassified version will be made public, while a more detailed classified one will remain secret -- and anticipation has been mounting over what might be revealed.

Recently, 60 Minutes interviewed US Navy pilots who said they had seen inexplicable aircraft that flew faster and were more maneuverable that anything seen before.

Retired officials with access to classified intelligence have been cashing in on the fervor and drumming up the mystery.

'What is true -- and I'm actually being serious here-- is that there's footage and records of objects in the skies that we don't know exactly what they are,' former president Barack Obama said in a May 17 interview.

'There are a lot more sightings than have been made public,' John Ratcliffe, who was director of National Intelligence for the last eight months of Donald Trump's administration, said in March.

'There are instances where we don't have good explanations for some of the things that we've seen.'