Brief History

Kenneth Arnold

Anomalous phenomenon or objects have been reported in our skies (and oceans) throughout the history of humanity.

Despite these claims, these unknown objects were not publicly considered by the United States government until about 1947 (shortly after we began dropping atomic bombs).

On June 24th, 1947, a pilot by the name of Kenneth Arnold reported seeing numerous Unidentified Flying Objects. His story was a media sensation. Shortly after, on July 8th, an alleged crash of a "flying saucer" was reported by the Roswell Army Air Field to a newspaper in New Mexico.


Below is a timeline of some major events following the summer of 1947:

  • The US army attempted to investigate if UFOs could be German. They could not find conclusive evidence that they were.

  • The FBI joined in to investigate UFOs.

  • 1948- Project Sign (also known as Project Saucer) was established by the USAF to investigate UFOs.

  • 1949- Project Grudge replaced Project Sign to investigate UFOs.

  • 1952- Project Blue Book replaced Project Grudge to investigate UFOs.

  • 1953- The CIA's Science Panel (also known as the Robertson Panel) was established. They recommended the public be educated about UFOs. They also stated that UFOs were not a direct threat to national security.

  • 1966- A special committee known as the Condon Committee investigates the validity of UFOs (and investigates the USAF investigation) and concludes it is not worth the expenditure, there is no scientific value to UFOs, and that there is no national security risk. Project Blue Book is ended as a result of their final report.

  • 1967- A memo is revealed implicating that the Condon Committee was biased and unscientific in forming its conclusions. Nonetheless, the damage is done. The Condon Report gave the public the impression that there was no issue to be concerned about. The public was not informed that Project Blue Book concluded with over 700 cases of Unidentified Flying Objects.

  • The public also did not appear to question why both Ruppelt and Hynek (who worked together for Project Blue Book) continued to work on UFO-related subjects (with books and movies). Hynek even created a UFO research center. The public also, to this day, still does not appear to question why the United States worked with Canada to make its own flying saucer (known now as the "Avrocar").

  • Technology continued to improve. UFOs continued to be observed on radar, by satellites, by trained observers, and by thousands of civilians world-wide. These cases were investigated by the NSA, the CIA, and the USAF. Many witnesses that came forward claimed to be threatened or silenced by government officials or "Men in Black." The media ridiculed and giggled about stories related to "tin-foil hats" and "little green men." Civilian groups formed and actively worked to end secrecy around UFOs. Some of these groups protested or even sued for disclosure.

  • 2007- The Office of The Undersecretary of Defense creates a secret program, AATIP (Advanced Aerospace Threat Identification Program), in order to investigate the military's UFO cases. The government emphasized using an alternative name for UFOs: "UAPs." Presumably, this was in-part due to the stigma associated with "UFO."

  • 2008- AAWSAP (Advanced Aerospace Weapons Systems Application Program) is formed when BAASS (Bigelow Aerospace Advanced Space Studies) accepts a contract to research UAPs and the phenomenon.

  • 2017- An article in the NY Times (Glowing Auras and 'Black Money') informs the public that the government was still researching UAPs. This was not the first time the public was notified by a newspaper article that the government was still investigating UFOs. Nonetheless, everyone responded significantly to this news.

  • 2020 - 3 Navy videos which were leaked to the public were given formal confirmation: the objects filmed were considered to be UAPs.

  • June 2021- A preliminary report was provided to congress on the subject of UAPs. The UAP Task Force was formed. The report was provided to the public in an unclassified form.

  • Dec 2021 An amendment to the NDAA regarding the investigation of UAPs was passed by the Senate.

  • May 2022 The House of Representatives held a congressional hearing regarding UAPs.


There are many stories within these years that I did not address. Stories involving the United Nations, Congress, nuclear missile sites, and much more. You will discover more as you explore this site or the information it leads you to.

More on the history of UFOs: