Document · D-OC-03
The report of the Robertson Panel convened by the CIA (January 1953)
Report of the Scientific Advisory Panel on Unidentified Flying Objects (Robertson Panel)
CIA – Office of Scientific Intelligence (panel chaired by H. P. Robertson) · Jan 17, 1953 · USA · Report
Original available
Official file from the third PURSUE series (CIA-UAP-002); content checked against the uapbrowser index entry and the CIA study by Haines (1997). The PDF on war.gov could not be downloaded automatically (error 403).
- What it contains
- The panel of scientists convened by the CIA in January 1953 examined 75 cases and the Tremonton (Utah) and Great Falls (Montana) films and concluded that the phenomena did not constitute a direct physical threat and showed no signs of hostile foreign devices; according to Haines's study it also recommended a public education policy to debunk UFO reports and the surveillance of civilian research groups.
- What it shows and what it does not
- It documents that in 1953 a commission convened by the CIA recommended downplaying public interest in UFOs: it supports Grusch's point about ridicule encouraged by the authorities (G-066). It does not show that knowledge of non-human craft lay behind it: the panel concluded that it saw no physical threat, and the CIA's history also links the later secrecy to the protection of the U-2 and OXCART flights (T-013).
- How it came to light
- A document known for decades and reconstructed from the CIA's official history (Haines, 1997); republished in the third PURSUE series (June 12, 2026, file CIA-UAP-002, with the copy sent to the Secretary of Defense, DOW-UAP-D085). Omega Click used it in its videos of June 15, 2026 and July 16, 2026, presenting it as proof of a “documented PSYOP.”
- The document
- Open the document (war.gov)
Sources
- Department of War, PURSUE series 3: CIA-UAP-002 (PDF) (primary source)
- Haines, “CIA's Role in the Study of UFOs, 1947-90”, Studies in Intelligence (1997), CIA (primary source)
- uapbrowser, overview of PURSUE series 3 (unofficial index) (other)
- Omega Click, “Quarta ondata UFO: il video militare che il Pentagono non sa spiegare” (YouTube, July 16, 2026) (video/audio, pro-disclosure)
On this site
People 3
Claims 1
- David Grusch: Argues that for decades U.S. authorities deliberately discredited the phenomenon: he cites a 1971 Australian… Partly verified
Cases 2
- Great Falls 1950: two lights filmed by the baseball team manager Disputed explanation
- Tremonton 1952: the film by a Navy photographer and the seagull hypothesis Disputed explanation
Timeline 2
- Jan 1953: The Robertson Panel, convened by the CIA, recommends “debunking” UFOs
- 1997: A CIA study documents misleading statements made to cover for the U-2
Open in the interactive archive The whole section: Archive of primary documents
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