On April 11, 1980, Peruvian Air Force Lieutenant Óscar Santa María Huertas was ordered to intercept an unidentified object observed near La Joya Air Base in Arequipa. Flying a Sukhoi Su-22, Santa María reported firing 64 rounds of 30-mm cannon ammunition at the object without apparent effect before pursuing it through a series of rapid altitude changes. The incident was reportedly witnessed by approximately 1,800 personnel at the base and was later referenced in a declassified U.S. Department of Defense intelligence message, although that document gives conflicting dates of May 9 and May 11, 1980.
The La Joya UFO Intercept occurred at the Peruvian Air Force's La Joya Air Base near Arequipa on the morning of April 11, 1980, according to the repeated testimony of then-Lieutenant Óscar Santa María Huertas. Santa María later stated that approximately 1,800 military and civilian personnel were assembled at the base when an unusual, balloon-like object was noticed near the end of the runway. The object was described as roughly circular or spherical, highly reflective, and approximately 600 metres above the ground.
The object was initially suspected to be a surveillance or espionage balloon because it was inside restricted military airspace and reportedly did not respond to attempts to establish its identity. Four pilots, including Santa María, reportedly observed the object from the ground. Commander FAP Carlos Vásquez Zegarra ordered an interception, and squadron commander Captain Óscar Alegre Valdez selected Santa María for the mission.
Santa María took off in a Soviet-built Sukhoi Su-22. According to his later account, he approached the object and fired a burst of 64 rounds from the aircraft's 30-mm cannon. He reported that some rounds missed while others appeared to strike the object without producing visible damage. The object then rapidly climbed, and Santa María pursued it through several manoeuvres. During subsequent attempts to obtain a firing position, he reported that the object repeatedly accelerated or changed altitude just as he prepared to fire. He also described one occasion in which the object suddenly stopped at high altitude, forcing him to manoeuvre to avoid it.
Santa María ultimately abandoned the pursuit because of fuel limitations. Later accounts state that the object remained visible over or near the base after the aircraft returned. The entire aerial engagement is generally reported to have lasted approximately 22 minutes, although published accounts vary on the exact duration and altitude figures.
The case has an important documentary complication. A declassified U.S. Department of Defense Joint Chiefs of Staff message concerning La Joya reports two UFO sightings in the vicinity of Mariano Melgar Air Base, the first during the morning of May 9, 1980 and the second during the evening of May 11, 1980. It describes a Peruvian Air Force Su-22 being scrambled and a pilot firing at an unidentified vehicle without apparent damage, followed by a second attempted interception. However, the message attributes the shooting details to a third-party source and does not identify Santa María by name. It therefore provides independent evidence that U.S. military intelligence received a report of a Peruvian Air Force interception and gunfire, but it does not independently establish every detail of Santa María's later April 11 account. The discrepancy between the April date given by Santa María and the May dates in the U.S. intelligence report remains unresolved.
The event subsequently became widely known through Santa María's interviews, his 2007 National Press Club testimony, and his first-person chapter in Leslie Kean's 2010 book UFOs: Generals, Pilots, and Government Officials Go on the Record. The case is notable because it combines a military pilot's detailed account, a reported mass observation at a military installation, an attempted armed interception, and a contemporaneous U.S. intelligence document. Nevertheless, there is no publicly released Peruvian Air Force case file, original gun-camera footage, or publicly available radar recording that independently verifies the extraordinary performance attributed to the object. For that reason, the case is best classified as disputed rather than confirmed.
| Date: | 1980-04-11 |
| Location: | La Joya Air Base, Arequipa, Peru |
| Country: | Peru |
| Category: | Military |
| Credibility: | Disputed |