CIA Psychic Mocked for Sensing Russian Sub Until Satellites Confirmed Discovery
CIA’s Psychic Spy and the Hunt for a Soviet Cold War Submarine
(Image: Joe McMoneagle, a retired Army veteran and "Remote Viewer No. 1," during his time in the Stargate Project.)
At the height of the Cold War, the CIA turned to an unconventional method to track a rumored Soviet superweapon: psychic espionage. Facing limited intelligence on the USSR’s military projects, the agency launched a covert program in the 1970s and 80s recruiting individuals claiming extrasensory perception, known as “remote viewers.” Among them was Joe McMoneagle, who allegedly pinpointed a hidden nuclear submarine using only his mind.
The Typhoon Submarine Revelation
In 1979, McMoneagle reported a vision of a massive Soviet submarine under construction near the White Sea. He described a never-before-seen vessel with slanted missile tubes and a double-hull design. Skeptical U.S. Navy officials dismissed his claims—until satellite imagery later confirmed the existence of the Typhoon-class submarine, launched in 1980.
(Image: The Typhoon-class submarine, the largest ever built, measuring 574 feet with a unique triple-hull structure.)
The Typhoon, stretching 574 feet and weighing 48,000 tons, became a Cold War icon. Though McMoneagle’s detailed psychic report reached the National Security Council, it was initially ridiculed. The sub’s 1981 deployment validated his account, though it never saw combat.
Jacques Vallée and the Stargate Project
Renowned computer scientist and ufologist Jacques Vallée, a key figure in developing ARPANET (the internet’s precursor), discussed McMoneagle’s feat on The Joe Rogan Experience. Vallée worked at Stanford Research Institute (SRI), where the CIA-funded Stargate Project trained psychic spies.
(Image: Jacques Vallée, whose work bridged technology and the paranormal, including remote viewing research.)
Remote viewers like McMoneagle used geographic coordinates to mentally “see” distant targets. Vallée described the process: viewers meditated, sketched impressions, and relayed details like structures or environments. McMoneagle reportedly psychically measured the Typhoon’s dimensions, later verified by intelligence.
How Remote Viewing Worked
Operatives sat with paper and pen, focusing on coordinates. They documented sensory flashes—images, temperatures, or emotions—to sketch targets. Vallée recalled his own training with Ingo Swann, a prominent psychic. Once, focusing on coordinates, he felt intense cold and fear; Swann revealed he’d “viewed” an Andean mountain peak.
(Image: A declassified document from the Stargate Project, showcasing remote viewing sketches.)
Legacy of the Program
The Stargate Project, terminated in 1995 after a CIA review deemed it unreliable, remains controversial. Declassified files confirm McMoneagle’s role (codenamed “Remote Viewer No. 1”) in espionage, including hostage and drug lord tracking. While the U.S. denies current use of psychic spies, Cold War tales like the Typhoon incident endure as fascinating footnotes in intelligence history.
McMoneagle, now a vocal advocate for remote viewing, detailed his experiences in memoirs. Though science remains skeptical, the program’s blend of mysticism and espionage underscores the extremes of Cold War desperation.
(Image: The Typhoon-class Dmitriy Donskoy, the last active sub of its class, decommissioned in 2023.)
In the end, the Stargate Project highlights a unique intersection of science, skepticism, and the enduring allure of the unknown.
