"The Government has been lying to us." — The 1979 FOIA release proved the CIA never stopped investigating UFOs.
The CIA’s Secret War on “Flying Saucers”: Evidence of a Massive Cover-Up
For decades, the Central Intelligence Agency maintained a public stance that its interest in Unidentified Flying Objects ended in 1952. However, a landmark 1979 lawsuit by the Arizona-based research group Ground Saucer Watch forced the release of 1,000 pages of internal documents that told a much darker story. These papers proved that the agency had been secretly monitoring UFOs since 1949, utilizing U.S. embassies worldwide to funnel sightings directly to the CIA, the White House, and the National Security Agency. As GSW head William Spaulding stated at the time, “The Government has been lying to us all these years.”
The documents revealed high-stakes military encounters, most notably a 1976 incident in Iran where two F-4 Phantom jets attempted to intercept a massive UFO. When the pilots tried to fire missiles at a smaller craft launched from the primary object, their weapons control panels and communications were instantly disabled by an unknown force. Beyond the hardware, the memos expose the CIA’s deep-seated fear of “public panic.” Internal directives from 1952 strongly urged that no indication of CIA concern reach the press, fearing that the public would interpret their interest as confirmation that “flying saucers” were real.
CIA Papers Detail UFO Surveillance
Agency’s Secret Studies Convince Arizona Research Group That Flying Saucers ‘Are Real’
PHOENIX, Jan. 13 — Documents obtained in a lawsuit against the Central Intelligence Agency show that the agency is secretly involved in the surveillance of unidentified flying objects and has been since 1949, an Arizona-based U.F.O. group said yesterday.
The C.I.A. has repeatedly said that it investigated and closed its books on U.F.O.’s during 1952, according to Ground Saucer Watch, a nation-wide research organization of about 500 scientists, engineers and others who seek to scientifically prove or disprove the existence of U.F.O.’s, but 1,000 pages of documents obtained under a freedom of information suit, show “the Government has been lying to us all these years,” it said.
“After reviewing the documents, Ground Saucer Watch believes that U.F.O.’s do exist, they are real, the U.S. Government has been totally untruthful and the cover-up is massive,” William Spaulding, head of the group, said.
Embassies Gather Information
Mr. Spaulding, an aerospace engineer with AiResearch, one of the largest producers of specialized aerospace components, said the documents show that United States embassies are used to help gather information on U.F.O. sightings and that the information “seems to be directed to the C.I.A., the White House and the National Security Agency”.
A C.I.A. memo of Aug. 1, 1952, recommends continued agency surveillance of “flying saucers,” saying, “It is strongly urged, however, that no indication of C.I.A. interest or concern reach the press or public in view of their probably alarmist tendencies to accept such interest as ‘confirmatory’ of the soundness of ‘unpublished facts’ in the hands of the U.S. Government,” the document said.
Among the documents are several detailed reports of Air Force attempts to either intercept or destroy U.F.O.’s. In a 1976 incident in Iran, one report says, two F-4 Phantom jet fighter-bombers pursued a large U.F.O. that seemed to send out smaller craft. One of the smaller craft “headed straight toward the F-4 at a very fast rate of speed,” the report said. “The pilot attempted to fire an AIM-9 missile at the object but at that instant his weapons control panel went off and he lost all communications”. The pilot eluded the craft, then watched as it “returned to the primary object for a perfect rejoin,” the report continued.
Concern About Russian Aims
A major point of concern, a C.I.A. document of Oct. 2, 1952, shows, is that U.F.O. sightings could mask Russian air attacks or “psychological warfare”. The report — to the director of Central Intelligence from the assistant director for the Office of Scientific Intelligence — recommends that the National Security Council be advised of the “implications of the ‘flying saucer’ problem”; that the matter be discussed with the Psychological Strategy Board, and that the C.I.A. help “develop a policy of public information which will minimize concern and possible panic resulting from the numerous sightings of…”.
A document dated November 1975, directs against acknowledging any pattern in sightings. “Unless there is evidence which links sightings, or unless media queries link sightings, queries can best be handled individually at the source and as questions arise,” it said. “Response should be direct, forthright and emphasize that the action taken was in response to an isolated or specific incident”.
Mr. Spaulding says the documents show that there are links and patterns in the sightings. From that evidence, he says, he believes U.F.O.’s are here on surveillance missions. “We find a concentration of sightings around our military installations, research and development areas,” he said. “The U.F.O. phenomenon is following what our own astronauts are doing on other planets — we send a scoutship, we take soil samples and then we land”.
This post analyzes the bombshell 1979 report regarding the CIA’s clandestine UFO studies. It details how Ground Saucer Watch, an organization of 500 scientists and engineers, used legal action to expose the government’s “total untruthfulness.” The documents highlight a dual-pronged concern by the agency: the genuine technological threat posed by UFOs and the risk that such sightings could be used as a mask for Soviet “psychological warfare.” A 1952 memo specifically recommended advising the National Security Council and the Psychological Strategy Board on how to minimize public alarm through a “cleansed” information policy.
The summary also covers GSW’s findings regarding patterns in UFO behavior. By analyzing the leaked reports, William Spaulding concluded that UFOs were engaged in systematic surveillance missions, with a heavy concentration of sightings near U.S. military installations and research centers. The GSW analysis suggests that the UFO phenomenon mirrors human space exploration—scouting, taking soil samples, and monitoring strategic capabilities. This article serves as a historical pillar in UFO research, proving that the “official” narrative of disinterest was a carefully manufactured facade.
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