CIA's Own U-2 History Includes a Chapter on UFOs and Operati

CIA's Own U-2 History Includes a Chapter on UFOs and Operation BLUE BOOK

The CIA History Staff's 1992 monograph on the U-2 and OXCART programs lists a section titled 'U-2s, UFOs, and Operation BLUE BOOK' — an official acknowledgment of the link between secret reconnaissance flights and Cold War UFO reports.

Published

October 4, 2026

Declassified

Date not listed

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ciaownhistoryincludeschapterufosoperationblue

CIA History Staff Monograph Links U-2 Flights to UFOs

That line appears in the table of contents of The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance: The U-2 and OXCART Programs, 1954–1974, a monograph written by Gregory W. Pedlow and Donald E. , in 1992.

The listing is not a curiosity buried in an appendix. It sits inside the chapter covering the U-2's development, between entries on initial flight testing and the hiring of pilots, at page 72 of the study. The placement matters.

A history produced by the Agency's own historians, drawing on classified government documents, published sources, and interviews with participants from the CIA, the Air Force, contractors, and the Eisenhower administration, chose to treat the intersection of high-altitude reconnaissance and unidentified flying object reports as a subject worth documenting alongside engineering milestones. The monograph was held at the Secret classification level, with certain satellite-related aspects described only in general terms, and carries handling caveats including NOFORN and…

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Based on the official release at https://www.war.gov/UFO/

Original government source · Community PURSUE index

CIA-UAP-003, The Central Intelligence Agency and Overhead Reconnaissance; The U-2 and OXCART Programs, 1954-1974

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https://www.war.gov/UFO/

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