Official position · S-001
In closing Project Blue Book in 1969, following the Condon Report endorsed by the National Academy of Sciences, the Air Force concluded that no evidence indicated that the unidentified sightings were extraterrestrial vehicles; of the 12,618 cases collected, 701 remained unexplained.
U.S. Air Force (Project Blue Book) and National Academy of Sciences · 1969
Historical cases
What it denies and what it leaves open
It concerns the sightings collected by the Air Force up to 1969; it leaves 701 cases unexplained and predates by decades the allegations about secret retrieval programs. AARO's historical report (2024) takes up this conclusion.
- Who disputes it
- As early as 1960, former CIA director Roscoe Hillenkoetter accused the Air Force of using secrecy and ridicule to make people believe that unknown objects were nonsense; Grusch cites the 1953 Robertson Panel as evidence of a policy of discrediting.
Sources
- U.S. Air Force: fact sheet on UFOs and Project Blue Book (primary source)
- The New York Times, February 28, 1960 (UPI) (press)
- Justin Snead: summary of AARO's historical report (2024) (analysis)
- Wikipedia – Condon Committee (other)
On this site
Documents 2
- The 1971 note by Australian defense intelligence on U.S. handling of UFOs Original available
- The Air Force fact sheet on UFOs and Project Blue Book (1969 closure) Original available
Open in the interactive archive The whole section: Denials and official positions
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