During the Cold War, international tensions were at an all-time high, and intelligence agencies were desperately seeking new methods to gather crucial information.
In a surprising turn, the CIA turned to an unconventional strategy — recruiting a so-called psychic spy to track a top-secret Soviet submarine.
The Unusual Recruitment of a Psychic Spy
With limited access to reliable intelligence sources, the CIA explored alternative techniques.
This led them to individuals claiming to have extrasensory perception (ESP) — a supposed ability to perceive distant events or objects without physical presence.
These individuals, known as ‘remote viewers,’ became part of a covert experiment that spanned the 1970s and 1980s.
Among these individuals was Joe McMoneagle, a standout remote viewer.
McMoneagle claimed that in 1979, he successfully visualized a Soviet hangar near the White Sea, describing a large submarine with distinctive features like slanted missile tubes and a unique double-hull design.
Dismissed but Later Proven Right
Despite McMoneagle’s detailed account, US Navy officials initially dismissed his findings as imagination.
However, their doubts were short-lived.
Satellite imagery and intelligence later confirmed the construction of a new class of submarine — the Typhoon.
This massive nuclear vessel, which remained concealed until its launch in September 1980, shocked intelligence officials.
The Typhoon measured 574 feet in length and weighed 48,000 tons when fully submerged.
Although McMoneagle’s vision had accurately described critical details, intelligence officials had disregarded his insights.
The Stargate Project: Exploring Psychic Abilities
McMoneagle’s involvement was part of the broader Stargate Project, a CIA-funded program that explored remote viewing for intelligence gathering.
The project trained psychic spies to mentally “travel” to distant locations, observing targets in real time without physically being there.
Remote viewers followed a structured process: they were assigned coordinates or simple reference numbers, which they used to focus their thoughts.
They would then enter a meditative state, allowing their minds to drift toward the assigned location.
Impressions would manifest as random shapes, images, or feelings, which the remote viewer would sketch or describe.
Though remote viewers claimed successful outcomes, the program faced skepticism.
By 1995, the CIA officially terminated the Stargate Project after concluding it failed to provide consistently reliable intelligence.
Jacques Vallée’s Insights on Psychic Spying
Renowned computer scientist Jacques Vallée shed further light on these experiments during a discussion on The Joe Rogan Experience.
Vallée, known for his involvement in developing the ARPANET and creating NASA’s first digital Mars map, revealed his own experiences with remote viewing during his time at the Stanford Research Institute.
Vallée recalled a particularly intense session with Ingo Swann, a prominent psychic.
After being assigned a set of coordinates, Vallée reported feeling extreme cold, dizziness, and fear.
Swann later revealed that Vallée had mentally transported himself to a mountaintop in the Andes.
The Legacy of Psychic Spies
Despite the eventual shutdown of the Stargate Project, McMoneagle’s contributions remain notable.
As a retired US Army veteran and one of the original remote viewers, McMoneagle was later identified in declassified documents as “Remote Viewer No. 1.”
Although psychic spying has never been conclusively proven as a dependable intelligence method, stories like McMoneagle’s success with the Typhoon submarine continue to fuel debate about the potential of the human mind and its unexplored abilities.