Report on the Historical Record of U.S. Government Involvement with Unidentified Anomalous Phenomena/Volume 1/Section 8
SECTION VIII: Testing and Development of U.S. National Security and Space Programs Most Likely Accounted for Some Portion of UAP Sightings
Summary
We assess that the majority of UAP sightings in the earlier decades of UAP investigations were the result of misidentification of ordinary phenomena and objects, based on AARO's findings of its own cases to date and the findings of all past investigatory efforts. However, we assess that some portion of these misidentifications almost certainly were a result of the surge in new technologies that observers would have understandably reported as UFOs.
Along with these systems, a broad and varying technology industry emerged along with a network of highly secretive national laboratories across the United States to support these efforts. AARO's review of Project BLUE BOOK cases shows a spike in reported UAP sightings from 1952–1957 and another spike in 1960.[130] These reporting spikes most likely are attributed to observers unknowingly having witnessed new technological advancements and testing and reporting them as UFOs. The below examples represent formerly classified and sensitive programs that involved thousands of test flights, rocket launches, and extensive experimentation which AARO assess most likely were the cause of many UAP reports. AARO assesses that this common and understandable occurrence—the misidentification of new technologies for UAP—- is present today, such as in cases where rocket exhaust plumes, micro-satellite trains, and UAS systems with odd morphologies are reported as UAP.
The below examples represent a sample of the unclassified and declassified authentic national security programs that AARO assesses probably were associated with erroneous UAP reporting:
Manhattan Project (August 1942)
The U.S. effort to build an atomic bomb, the Manhattan Project, was named after the location of its initial offices in what became known as the Manhattan Engineer District at 270 Broadway, Manhattan, New York City. General Leslie R. Groves, head of the project, followed the custom of naming the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' districts after the city in which they were located.[131] The secrecy surrounding the Manhattan Project and the establishment of several other national laboratories, such as Los Alamos National Laboratories, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Sandia National Laboratories, Pacific Northwest National Laboratory, and Oak Ridge National Laboratory to support this effort probably contributed to the spike in reported UAP.[132]
V-173/XF5U-1 "Flying Pancake" (1942)
The V-173 aircraft flew for the first time on November 23, 1942.[133] It was believed that maintaining a uniform airflow over the wingspan—or "pancake" fuselage—would allow the aircraft to take off and land at exceptionally low speeds without sacrificing high-speed performance qualities that appealed to the USN for its fighter aircraft.[134] The V-173 could take off vertically, had a circular wing 23.3 feet in diameter, and could almost hover. The XF5U-1's design was largely similar to the V-173. However, the USN cancelled the project in 1948 in favor of a switch to turbojet engines.[135]
Project Mogul (1947–1949)
The U.S. Army Air Force Air Materiel Command operated Project Mogul between 1947 and 1949. The aim of this program was to secure intelligence on Soviet nuclear weapons testing and to provide an early warning mechanism for Soviet ballistic missiles. Specifically, Project Mogul scientists worked on developing high-altitude balloons that would carry sensors capable of detecting long-range sound waves from weapons tests or missiles traveling through the atmosphere. A crashed balloon associated with Project Mogul outside of Roswell, New Mexico, is assessed to be the source of early UFO claims.[136]
Project High Dive (1950s)
Project High Dive was a program that conducted tests on large balloons and used test dummies in its experimentation. The goal of this program was to research the effects on pilots when they ejected from aircraft, especially pilots' tolerance to deceleration from wind drag.[137]
Project Aquatone/Dragon Lady (1954)
President Eisenhower authorized Project Aquatone to develop the U-2 Dragon Lady, a high-altitude reconnaissance aircraft to collect intelligence on Soviet nuclear deployments. More than half of the UFO reports investigated in the 1950s and 1960s were assessed to be U.S. reconnaissance flights, according to a declassified CIA assessment on reconnaissance aircraft.[138] The report noted that UFO reports would spike when the U-2 was in flight, especially from airline pilots to Air Traffic Control. At that time, commercial flights typically flew below 20,000 feet while the U-2 flew at 60,000 feet. The report noted that when commercial pilots were flying east to west, with the sun below the horizon, the sunlight would illuminate the U-2.[139]
WS-117L/CORONA (Late 1956)
In 1956, the USAF initiated the WS-117L satellite reconnaissance program equipped with a film-return vehicle. Following the launch of Sputnik, the Eisenhower Administration made this program a high-priority. In February 1958, President Eisenhower decided the CIA would have the lead role in the program, called "CORONA," and that it would be jointly managed alongside the USAF. The CORONA program performed 140 launches between 1959 and 1972, with many returning film from space to the Earth for recovery.[140]
VZ-9AV Avrocar/Project Silver Bug (1958)
Canada initially led an effort to develop a supersonic, vertical takeoff and landing fighter-bomber in the early 1950s. A.V. Roe (Avro) Aircraft Limited (later Avro Canada) led the design for the concept, and this effort yielded the Avrocar, an aircraft with a circular shape that gave it a stereotypical "flying saucer" appearance.[141] Canada pulled its support when the project became too expensive. The U.S. Army and U.S. USAF took over the project in 1958 when Avro offered it to the USG, when it became known as "Project Silver Bug."[142][143] Avro built two test vehicles that were designated as the VZ-9AV Avrocar, but the project was cancelled in December 1961 when the vehicle could not lift more than a few feet off the ground.[144] Project Silver Bug was declassified in 1997.[145]
Explorer 1 (January 1958)
The United States launched its first satellite, Explorer 1, into space on January 31, 1958. Explorer 1 carried a cosmic ray detector and was designed, built, and operated by the NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory.[146]
Oxcart/A-12/SR-71 (1958)
President Eisenhower approved this CIA-led program to develop a successor to the U-2 spy plane in 1958, which became fully operational in 1965.[147] The U-2's successor, the A-12 OXCART sustained a speed of Mach 3.2 at 90,000 feet altitude.[148] By the time the A-12 was deployed by the CIA in 1967, CORONA satellites were being used to collect imagery of denied areas with less provocation than aircraft overflights.[149] In 1968, President Johnson ordered the retirement of the A-12 when it was replaced by the SR-71, which itself was a modified version of the A-12.[150]
Project Mercury (1958–1963)
Project Mercury, America's first human space program made six flights. The objectives of the program were to orbit a manned spacecraft around Earth, investigate humans' ability to function in space, and recover astronauts and spacecraft safely.[151]
TATTLETALE/GRAB (September 1960)
The United States was the first nation to deliver a reconnaissance satellite to space. This electronic intelligence (ELINT) satellite was developed by the Naval Research Laboratory in early 1958 under the code name "TATTLETALE" with the mission of intercepting Soviet radar signals.[152] The program later became known as GRAB (Galactic Radiation and Background), after public disclosure of the ELINT satellite project.[153][154]
Project Gemini (1961–1966)
The Gemini program was a U.S. human spaceflight program that took place between the Mercury and Apollo programs. Similar to Project Mercury, Project Gemini spacecraft was launched using ballistic missiles that were designed to carry nuclear payloads.[155] Project Gemini conducted 12 missions.[156]
Project Apollo (1961–1972)
Project Apollo was a NASA human spaceflight program conducted after Project Mercury and Project Gemini.[157] Project Apollo totaled 14 missions, 11 spaceflights, and 12 astronauts walking on the moon.[158]
Poppy (1962–1977)
The successor to GRAB, Poppy was an ELINT satellite system developed by the National Research Laboratory that operated from 1962 to 1977 to collect Soviet radar emissions.[159] A total of seven Poppy missions were launched between December 1962 and December 1971.[160] The program was declassified in 2004.[161]
Gambit (1963–1971)
The National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) launched its first high-resolution photoreconnaissance satellite system in 1963, which became known by its codename, Gambit.[162] Two Gambit systems were developed: Gambit 1, initially launched in 1963, and Gambit 3, which was first launched in 1966.[163] The Gambit 1 satellite’s exposed film was returned to Earth in reentry vehicles, or "buckets," that separated from the satellite, fell through the atmosphere and descended by parachute until obtained by USAF aircraft at about 15,000 feet altitude.[164] Gambit was declassified in 2011.
Hexagon (1971–1986)
Similar to Gambit, Hexagon was an NRO photoreconnaissance satellite system. It was launched in 1971 to conduct wide-area searches of denied territory.[165] From 1971–1986, 19 missions collected imagery over 877 million square miles of the Earth’s surface.[166] The Hexagon system was the last satellite employing film reentry vehicles.[167] Hexagon was declassified in 2011.[168]
Space Transportation System/Space Shuttle (1972–2011)
The Space Shuttle program was NASA's fourth human spaceflight program and was comprised of the first reusable spacecraft to carry humans into Earth's orbit.[169] The space shuttle fleet—Columbia, Challenger, Discovery, Atlantis, and Endeavour—flew 135 missions, serviced the Hubble space telescope, and helped construct the International Space Station.[170] The first shuttle launch, Columbia, was conducted on April 12, 1981.[171]
HAVE Blue/F-117A Nighthawk/TACIT Blue (1975)
The Defense Advanced Research Project Agency (DARPA) oversaw the development of HAVE Blue in the mid-1970s, which was the first practical, combat-stealth aircraft. HAVE Blue completed its first test flight in 1977, and the success of this program led the USAF to later produce the F-117A Nighthawk, as well as the TACIT Blue aircraft. The HAVE Blue, F-117A Nighthawk, and TACIT Blue programs laid the foundations for the later development of the B-2 stealth bomber.[172]
Advanced Technology Bomber/B-2 Spirit (1980)
The B-2 is a USAF low-observable stealth bomber capable of delivering conventional and nuclear payloads. It uses a combination of reduced infrared, acoustic, and electromagnetic signatures. It was first publicly displayed on November 22, 1988 in Palmdale, California and conducted its first flight on July 17, 1989. The first aircraft was delivered on December 17, 1993.[173]
Strategic Defense Initiative (March 1983)
At the initiative of President Ronald Reagan, the Strategic Defense Initiative Organization was established in 1984 to explore a multi-layered strategic defense against ballistic missiles; this program involved research into space-based and ground-based systems including laser and interceptor missiles. This intensive research effort involved national laboratories and academia. Some of the technologies researched were determined to be years from development, and funding was reduced. The program ended in 1993 and was replaced by the Ballistic Missile Defense Organization.[174]
Advent of Unmanned Aerial Vehicles 1980s–Present
The research and development, flight testing, evaluation, deployment, and the operation of drones—Unmanned Aerial Systems (UAS), Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV), Remotely Piloted Aircraft (RPA), and Remotely Piloted Aircraft Systems (RPAS)—almost certainly resulted in reported sightings of UAP. Some of these systems had a "saucer" or triangle-shaped appearance and were capable of loitering aloft.
The USG acquired and operated a number of systems for a range of missions including intelligence, surveillance, reconnaissance, and strike, among others. The below systems represent a sample of those that have been operationally deployed since the 1994 Bosnia conflict and subsequently employed in counterterrorism operations around the world.[175] Since then, their form and use have spread to civil and commercial applications.
GNAT 750
The GNAT 750 was developed in the late 1980s by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. The prototype served as the basis for a more advanced design under DARPA.[176] It was first used in 1994 during the Bosnia conflict where satellites were not optimized to collect for extended times over such small areas and where the airspace was heavily defended by capable anti-aircraft missile systems.[177]
Predator
The Predator system, also built by General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc., was based on the GNAT-750.[178] It was initially a joint USN and U.S. Army project but transitioned to the USAF in 1996.[179] It was known as the RQ-1.[180] The system possessed synthetic aperture radar, electro-optical, and infrared sensors.[181] It was used to support United Nations and North Atlantic Treaty Organization efforts in Bosnia and was widely used in counterterrorism operations.[182] It became a platform with a wide array of technical capabilities that performed a variety of missions—such as close air support, combat search and rescue, precision strike, convoy/raid over watch, target development and terminal air guidance.[183] The USAF retired the fleet in 2018.[184]
Reaper
General Atomics Aeronautical Systems, Inc. also built the MQ-9 Reaper—a newer, larger version of the MQ-1 Predator UAV.[185] This platform is faster, equipped with more advanced sensors, can carry more munitions than the Predator, and can be easily tailored with a variety of mission-specific capabilities.[186] The system requires a pilot to control the aircraft and an aircrew member to operate the sensors and weapons.[187][188] It has an operational altitude of 50,000 feet.[189] The aircraft is operated out of a variety of locations worldwide, including Creech Air Force Base (AFB) in Nevada.[190]
Dark Star
The RQ-3 Dark Star was a remote pilot-assisted stealth system intended to conduct reconnaissance missions in high-threat areas. Lockheed Martin, Boeing, and DARPA developed Dark Star in the mid-to-late 1990s.[191] It never entered production, but the research conducted on Dark Star led to subsequent advances used on other platforms. Some observers asserted that Dark Star resembled a flying saucer with long narrow wings.[192]
It was designed to be fully autonomous from its launch, mission engagement, and return. It used satellite links to transmit sensor data. The first prototype flew in 1996, but crashed a month later on its second flight. The system completed five test flights before DoD terminated the program in 1999 due to cost and instability problems.[193]
Polecat
Lockheed Martin's Advanced Development Program organization, also known as "Skunk Works" developed the P-175 Polecat UAV to better understand the flight dynamics of tailless, bat-wing- shaped, 90-foot wingspan high-altitude UAV, including the next generation of structural composite materials and configurations.[194] The Polecat made its first flight in 2005, and Lockheed Martin disclosed its existence in the Farnborough Airshow in 2006.[195]
Sentinel
The RQ-170 Sentinel is a UAV developed by Lockheed Martin's Skunk Works for the USAF.[196] It is a low observable platform with a variety of intelligence, surveillance, and reconnaissance payloads. The Sentinel is operated out of Creech AFB and the Tonopah Test Range in Nevada.[197]
Global Hawk
Built by Northrop Grumman, the RQ-4 Global Hawk is the largest UAS in operation by the USAF.[198] It can fly at 65,000 feet more than 34 hours and is also capable of loitering at 60,000 feet while monitoring almost 58,000 square miles.[199] The aircraft is currently fielded in three different models.[200]