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: OF THE AIR FORCE » Office of Public: Information | _ Washington 25, D, C. Us S, Aas Force Summary of Events and Information Concerning the Unidentified Flying Object Program The Air Force’ feels a’ very definite obligation to identify and analyze things that happen in the air that '‘may have in them menace to the United States and, because of that feeling of obligation and pur- Suit of that interest, the Air Force eStablished an activity known as the Unidentified Flying Object Program. * % } This program was éstablished in’1947 when unidentified flying objects were being reported in various parts of the United States, The reports of. sightings reached a peak of 1,700 in 1952 and dropped to a total of 429 in 1953, During the first nine months of 1954 only 254 sightings were reported, are e From a survey of the volume of sightings received by the Air Force, it-has been determined that over ‘80 percent are explainable as being known objects, . Generally, sighted objects fall into the éate- gory of? balloons, aircraft, astronomical bodies, atmospheric reflec- tions, and birds, All reports of unidentified flying objects result from either radar or visual sightings. Explanations pertaining to sightings reported from military and civilian radar facilities are as’ follows: 1. Temperature inversion reflections can give a return on a radar scope that is as sharp’ as that received from an aircraft., Speeds of these returns reportedly range from zero to fantastic rates, The "objects" also appear:to move in all directions. Such sightings have resulted in many fruitless intercept efforts, To possibly bear out the theory of temperature inversion reflection is an.incid@ent which occurred in January 1951 near Oakridge, Tennessee, Two Air Force aircraft attempted to intercept an unidenti- fied "object" and:actually established a radar "lock" on the object. Their altitude at the time was: 7,000 feet. The unidentified object, according to their radar, appeared to be at an elevation of 10 to 25 degrees from this altitude, Three passes were made in an attempt to close on the object, In each instance the pilots reported that. theip radar led them first upward and then down toward a specifié point on the ground, (One scientific theory holds that light can be similarly reflected froma layer of warm air above the earth, If this Proves _ to be correct, many visual night sightings could be accounted for, ) ©, Ionized..clouds have caused Some unidentified radar returns Thunderstorms are identifiable by radar ‘and radar returns have also. been received from ice formations in the air, balloons, &round reflec- tions, frequency interference between other radar Stations, and wind- born objects, Obviously, such returns are very difficult to identify especially when they occur during darkness, g ” ale MORE BNCL OS RE