CIA-UAP-002, Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects, Report, 1952-1953

This Central Intelligence Agency file gathers the 1953 Report of the Scientific Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects, dated January 17, 1953, and the papers that went with it. The panel was chaired by H. P. Robertson. It found no evidence that the phenomena were a direct threat to national security. It recommended stripping UFOs of their special status and aura of mystery and starting a public education program. The file also holds F. C. Durant's account of the meetings, 1952 CIA memos proposing research, and transmittal letters.

From the source:Release of 2026-06-12 This file contains correspondence and reports dated 1952–1953 from the Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects, convened by the CIA’s Office of Scientific Intelligence. The panel’s primary conclusion was that “flying saucers” did not pose a direct physical threat to the national security of the United States. The panel found no evidence that these phenomena were attributable to hostile foreign artifacts or indicated a need to revise existing scientific concepts. However, the panel identified a significant indirect threat stemming from the public’s fascination with the subject. The panel concluded that the high volume of reports, encouraged by a "sensationalist press," could overwhelm and clog vital intelligence and communication channels, potentially distracting from genuine threats. Furthermore, they warned that a “morbid national psychology” could be exploited by adversaries to incite “hysterical behavior and harmful distrust of duly constituted authority.” To mitigate these risks, the panel recommended an official policy of “debunking” to “strip the UFO subject of its mystery,” alongside a training initiative for military personnel to better recognize and filter out misidentified objects, thereby reducing communication “noise” and allowing the national security apparatus to focus on more "legitimate defense concerns."

E .. ~ T
Secnr l ~ rmation
,,
in~icationa of hostile action, and the cul.tivatiO!l or a morbid national
psyehologr in wtch skillful hostile propaganda could ~.nduce byaterieal
behavior ena. bal'lllf'u.l diet!"USt of duly constituted authority.
4. In order most effectively to otrcngtb.en the x:£.tional. facilities
for the ti!Jlely recognition mid the appropriate handling of true indieationa
of hostile action., and i;o minimize the conc01!11tant ciengers alluded to
above, t':l.e Panel l"'eC01l!:?l;.?:lldB:
a. i'ha.t the natianal security agencies tak~ immediate steps
to strip the Unidentified F.'.cyu,.g ObJects of the special status tbey
have been g-1ven and t.he i'.ura of nwstery they have unt'o1"'i.'1lD8tely
acquired;
b . That the national. security agencies 1.nstitute policies
on intelligence, training, 6Ild public education designed to pr-ape.re
the me;.;erj.al. defenses E.nd. the mcrale ot the country to recognize
most px•omptly and t.o r-eact n\Ost effectively to true 1udicat.1cns
ot hostile intent or action.
We suggest uiat these aims may be at!hieved by an integr..--.ted program
de6igned to reassure the public ot the totru. lack of evidence of inimical.
torcee behind the phenomena, to tra:i.n persoonel to recognize &D.d reJect
false indications quickly and efteetively, and to etrengthen regular
channels tor the evaluation of and prompt reaction to true indications
or hostile measures.
/ s/ Lloyd V. Berkner
Associated Universities, Inc.
&_B. P. Robertson , Chairman
California. Institute of Technology /s/ s. A. Goudsmi't
Brookhaven National laboratories
LsL Luis W. Alvarez
University of Ca11f'or-a1a Le/ 'Jhornton P~
obna Hopkins University
s 'l'
ro