Cold War Secrets: How Psychic Spies Tracked a Soviet Typhoon Submarine
During the Cold War‘s intense period, amidst escalating geopolitical tensions and persistent rumors regarding Soviet military advancements, the CIA reportedly explored unconventional intelligence-gathering methods. Facing limitations in traditional espionage, the agency purportedly recruited individuals claiming psychic abilities to locate a top-secret Soviet vessel. This initiative involved so-called ‘psychic spies‘ who allegedly utilized only their minds to uncover classified information.
The Era of Remote Viewing
In the 1970s and 1980s, the CIA conducted experiments with individuals asserting extrasensory perception. These subjects, known as ‘remote viewers,’ were tested for their ability to glean details about distant objects, people, or events. This covert program, allegedly spanning over a decade, purportedly saw these remote viewers successfully track down hostages and identify the locations of drug traffickers.
McMoneagle’s Vision: Uncovering the Typhoon Class
Among the most notable remote viewers was Joe McMoneagle, who asserted he employed his purported abilities to penetrate a secure hangar in the Soviet Union and expose the construction of a highly confidential submarine. In 1979, McMoneagle stated he remotely viewed a large warehouse approximately 100 yards from the White Sea. He described an unprecedented submarine design featuring slanted missile tubes and a distinctive double-hull structure.
McMoneagle relayed his ‘vision’ to the US Navy; however, his assertions were initially dismissed as mere fantasy.
Confirmation and the Typhoon Submarine
Subsequently, intelligence obtained through satellite imagery and other sources delivered a startling confirmation. The Soviet Union was indeed developing a new class of submarine, designated Typhoon, concealed until its launch in September 1980. This revelation lent credence to McMoneagle’s earlier claims.
Jacques Vallée and the Stargate Project
This Cold War narrative was recounted by Jacques Vallée, a distinguished computer scientist, during a recent interview on the Joe Rogan Experience podcast. Vallée, a French-born expert in computer science, astronomy, and ufology, played a significant role in the development of ARPANET, the precursor to the modern internet. He also contributed to creating the first computerized map of Mars for NASA in 1963.
Vallée’s involvement extended to the Stanford Research Institute, where he joined a group exploring the potential of mental abilities for remote observation. Vallée himself underwent training in remote viewing, a psychic technique initially funded by the CIA to gather intelligence without physical presence in targeted locations. These experiments were part of the Stargate Project, officially terminated in 1995 after a CIA assessment concluded it did not consistently provide reliable intelligence.
Currently, no conclusive evidence suggests the US government has reactivated psychic espionage initiatives since the Stargate Project‘s conclusion.
During his March 12 interview with Rogan, Vallée detailed the US development of psychic agents capable of projecting their minds to distant locations to observe ongoing events in real-time.
Visualizing the Unseen: McMoneagle’s Remote Viewing Technique
In the case of the Soviet submarine, McMoneagle reportedly gathered specific details about the vessel without physically entering the clandestine hangar. ‘He described the length. And, you know, he actually measured it psychically,’ Vallée explained. ‘And that turned out to be accurate. And then when the submarine was constructed, they excavated a channel to the sea, and it departed.’
The submarine McMoneagle envisioned proved to be the largest nuclear submarine ever built: the Typhoon. This colossal vessel measures 574 feet in length and displaces 48,000 tons when submerged.
Despite intelligence officials forwarding McMoneagle’s report about the Typhoon to the US National Security Council, his vision was met with skepticism, and the submarine was eventually launched without incident.
The Typhoon submarine officially entered service during the Cold War in 1981 but never engaged in combat missile launches.
The Process of Remote Viewing
Typically, remote viewers would sit at a table with paper and drawing implements. They would receive a focal point, often simple, such as a set of numbers representing coordinates, to direct their mental focus. For psychic spies during the Cold War, these coordinates indicated locations of interest for US government intelligence gathering.
From this starting point, the remote viewer would relax and clear their mind, allowing their thoughts to drift toward the designated coordinates. Vallée described that these gifted individuals were not simply guessing, but rather receiving impressions – spontaneous images, shapes, or sensations associated with the target location. These impressions could manifest as perceptions of water, metal, or large, dark shapes. Remote viewers were instructed not to overanalyze these impressions but to proceed intuitively by sketching their visions.
Vallée personally practiced this technique at SRI during the 1970s. Recalling a training session with American psychic Ingo Swann, Vallée described an instance where his mind was transported to a frigid mountain range thousands of miles away. ‘[Swann] gives me a set of coordinates, longitude and latitude somewhere. And I get very cold right away, and I get dizzy,’ Vallée recounted.
‘I said, “Ingo, I don’t know where you’re sending me, but I’m cold, I’m trembling, I’m afraid, I’m afraid of falling, and, you know, I really don’t feel well.” And he said, “you’re on top of a peak in the Andes,”‘ the scientist revealed.
Joe McMoneagle: Remote Viewer No. 1
Joe McMoneagle, a retired US Army veteran, was among the original remote viewers recruited for the SRI program in the 1970s, later known as the Stargate Project. In his book detailing his experiences in the psychic program, McMoneagle disclosed his designation as ‘Remote Viewer No. 1’ and his operational base at Fort Meade in Maryland.
Declassified documents and interviews have since corroborated McMoneagle’s involvement in the Army’s psychic intelligence unit, confirming his utilization of remote viewing to gather intelligence on military targets for the United States.
