AARO Historical Record Report Volume 1

13
• Conduct classified program research across the IC, DoD, and interagency to
validate or invalidate any claims of classified programs derived from historical
interviews.
• Conduct historical interviews of individuals who claim knowledge of alleged USG
activities related to UAP.
• Partner with the U.S. National Archives on locating UAP data, refining requests
based on the discovery of new leads derived from historical interviews, as well as
open-source and classified research.
• Engage with commercial entities on named companies alleged to have worked with
the USG on UAP recovery and alleged exploitation of UAP technology.
• Partner with the archives of key intelligence and national security agencies such
as the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA),
Department of Energy (DOE), National Security Agency (NSA), the National
Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), the Services, and DoD Combatant
Commands.
SECTION IV: Accounts of USG UAP Investigatory Programs Since 1945
Summary
AARO reviewed official USG efforts involving UFOs/UAP since 1945. This research
revealed the existence of approximately two dozen separate investigative efforts, depending on
how they are counted. These efforts ranged from formal, distinct programs employing a
dedicated staff with some measure of longevity including: Projects SAUCER/SIGN, GRUDGE,
and BLUE BOOK, the DoD UAP Task Force (UAPTF) led by the U.S. Navy (USN), the
Airborne Object Identification and Management Synchronization Group (AOIMSG), and the
All-domain Anomaly Resolution Office (AARO). There were also short-term projects that
supported some of these established programs including: Projects TWINKLE and BEAR and
short-term inquiries into or reviews of specific cases, such as the USAF’s two Roswell reports.
Additionally, there were efforts that amounted to short-term, outside reviews of USAF-
established programs; such as the CIA-sponsored Study Group, the Robertson Panel, the Durant
Report, and the University of Colorado’s Condon Report (contracted by the USAF). Some of
these efforts, including Projects SAUCER and SIGN, were closely connected and essentially the
same organization. Project GRUDGE was the name given to two related, but different
organizations; the second—reorganized Project GRUDGE—was established about a year after
the dissolution of the original Project GRUDGE.
Project SAUCER (1946/1947–January 1948)
Background: The exact date of the founding of this first effort as well as its official and
unofficial name are unclear. According to one source, General Nathan Twining, Commander of
the Air Technical Services Command, established Project SAUCER on December 30, 1947, to