Sumatra, Indonesia
Sumatra is the largest of the Indonesian islands and the approximate location of Michael Herrera's 2009 UAP encounter, one of the most detailed alleged firsthand encounters by US military personnel with an unidentified craft and an associated armed paramilitary force. The specific landing zone remains uncertain, but the encounter occurred in the jungle interior of the island during a humanitarian mission following the 2009 Sumatra Earthquake and Tsunami.
UAP Significance
In October 2009, 20-year-old Michael Herrera, a USMC rifleman assigned to the USS Denver and the 31st Marine Expeditionary Unit, was deployed to Indonesia as part of the US military's humanitarian relief response to the Sumatra earthquake and tsunami. Herrera's team arrived near Padang via CH-53 Super Stallion helicopters and pushed to high ground on a ridge for reconnaissance. At approximately 300 meters elevation, the team observed an anomalous craft rotating just above the tree line in a jungle clearing below — something Herrera described as "stuck out like a sore thumb."
The craft was described as:
- Approximately 300 feet in diameter, octagonal in shape
- Rotating clockwise, transitioning colors between light matte gray and dark matte black
- Featuring V-Banta black exterior panels and a pyramid-type protrusion on top
- Emitting an audible hum compared to the sound of a guitar amplifier
- Floating 15 to 20 feet above the ground on an elevated platform
The craft was surrounded by an armed force with American dialects, American gear, and no rank or insignia — believed by the host to be a rogue or compartmented black program unit rather than a conventional US military element. Four F-350 trucks with weapon cases and what appeared to be oxygen or humidity control units were staged nearby. The containers were later revealed by an alleged program insider to have held human beings, apparently used as "psionic assets" for interfacing with the craft.
The Marines were ambushed, disarmed, photographed via their military IDs, and threatened. They were then escorted back up the hillside and told to return to the LZ without speaking about what they had seen. A platform below the craft rose, connected with the vehicle, and the combined assembly departed westward instantaneously — with no rotor wash, no exhaust, no sonic boom, and no disturbance to surrounding vegetation.
Upon return to the USS Denver, Herrera was debriefed by an admiral. His camera battery and SD card (containing photos taken during the encounter) were confiscated, along with fellow Marines' cell phones. Back in Okinawa, a USAF Lieutenant Colonel with no name tag directed Herrera to never speak of the event and had him sign an NDA.
Herrera testified to AARO in April 2023. AARO's Historical Report Volume 1 referenced his account but introduced two factual inaccuracies — incorrectly attributing claims about "US Special Forces" and an "extraterrestrial spacecraft" that Herrera says he never made.
Geography
The exact landing zone coordinates were not disclosed publicly as of the time of filming. The encounter took place in a jungle interior accessible only by helicopter from a hasty LZ, approximately 7-800 meters from the craft location with a hill in between. Padang, West Sumatra, served as the coordination hub for the humanitarian relief operation.