Office of the Secretary of Defense: 05_AARO_Historical_Record_Report

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collect and evaluate all information relating to UFO sightings which could be construed as of
concern to the national security. Captain Edward Ruppelt claimed that Project SAUCER was the
informal name of Project SIGN and it was designated a high priority. However, in an interview
with an employee of Project SIGN, the employee claimed the project started a year earlier, in
1946, and that Project SAUCER was its original, informal name. 3 A dearth of data and
information is associated with this effort.4
Project SAUCER investigated one of the first well-known accounts provided by a private
pilot, Kenneth Arnold. The pilot claimed that on June 23, 1947, while flying near Mount
Rainier, Washington, he saw nine, large circular objects flying in a formation, objects that
periodically flipped and were traveling at 1,700 miles per hour. He also compared the flight
characteristics as the “tail of a Chinese kite.”56 Arnold described their shape as “saucer-like
aircraft.” His account was picked up by several media outlets, and the term “flying saucer”
emerged.7
Results: Project SAUCER did not find evidence of extraterrestrial technology.
Project SIGN (January 1948–February 1949)
Background: Project SAUCER was formalized into an official, high-priority program
named Project SIGN. The Air Technical Intelligence Center (ATIC) assumed control of Project
SIGN on January 23, 1948. (ATIC later became the National Air and Space Intelligence Center -
NASIC). The impetus for this effort was to determine if these objects might be Soviet secret
weapons or “extra-planetary” objects. The staff seemed confident that after a few months of
work they could reach a conclusion. As part of their work, the staff at Project SIGN reviewed all
of the military’s intelligence on German weaponry and aeronautical capabilities to determine if
some might have fallen into Soviet possession.8
Results: The project evaluated 243 reported UFO sightings, and in February 1949, it
concluded that “no definite and conclusive evidence is yet available that would prove or disprove
the existence of these unidentified objects as real aircraft of unknown and unconventional
configuration.”9 Project SIGN determined that nearly all were caused by either misinterpretation
of known objects, hysteria, hallucination, or hoax.10 It also recommended continued military
intelligence control over the investigation of all sightings. It did not rule out the possibility of
extraterrestrial phenomena.
• Although the historical account is unsubstantiated and derived from only one source,
Project SIGN staff in late July 1948 allegedly drafted, signed, and sent a report
(“Estimate of the Situation”) up the military chain for approval. This report allegedly
concluded that UFOs were “interplanetary” in origin, but it was rejected by USAF
Chief of Staff General Hoyt S. Vandenberg as lacking proof.11
• This rejected report may have resulted in the Pentagon leadership’s loss of confidence
in the staff at Project SIGN leading to the establishment of Project GRUDGE, which
some sources claim possessed an institutional bias for debunking UFO claims.1205Page determined to be Unclassified
Review by Chief of Staff, AARO
IAW FY24 NDAA, Section 1841 (a)(1)(C)
Date: 02/05/2025